Painting a Picture with Words

I've begun the arduous job of editing what I've already written.  The plus side is that it's all down on paper.  The down side is that it's flat in places and needs to be jazzed up.

I've gone through the first three chapters - generally what you need for a proposal - and I'm pretty satisfied with the start.  I found a crutch word that I didn't realize I'd used so frequently, and deleted a whole bunch of the word "still."  This is where the editing really starts, though, moving forward into chapter 4.

Often, in the rush to get the story down, critical details are left out - sensory images.  This is what I'm paying attention to now.  Can you still see the sand in the desert wind?  Feel the heat rising from the ground in waves?  Hear a bird in the sky or the howl of a coyote?  Is the climate so dry you can taste it?  On the first draft, you tend to believe your readers have ESP and can see everything that's going on inside your head.  BIG MISTAKE!  Everything you see, hear, feel, taste, touch - these have to find their way to the page.  When I started this story, these images were all fresh in my mind and the ones that fascinated me the most I tried to put down in great detail.  As I moved forward, I took for granted that everyone else could also see what I saw, and with time and distance between my visit to the location, some of the details faded - they were less in the forefront of my mind.  Readers need to be reminded of the landscape through which your characters walk.  As they move from page to page, the story has to follow them as if you are painting a picture with words.

Today is "painting" day.  Tomorrow I'm going to update my spreadsheet for who I want to send proposals to (and likely do more "painting").  I want to make sure I take my time with the painting part, and there are details I know I missed on the first go 'round that I have to incorporate this time through (found such a detail in my third chapter).  Now that I know what the finished picture looks like, it's all about the shadowing and light that will make it "pop."

Back to it - before the colors dry up!

Good King Wenceslas

I'm not sure of the nationality or the festival, but I DO know today is the Feast of Stephen.  Don't ask me why.  It's a Christmas thing.  And in England, it's Boxing Day.

In the USA, it's the day after Christmas.  For some, it's a collective sigh of relief, for others, the countdown to next year begins.  Put me somewhere in the middle.  I'm a Christmas elf, for certain, but for most Christians, we celebrate Christmas all year round (with special emphasis on December 25th).  As for the gift giving - I have finally entered the e-book realm.  I received a Kindle for Christmas, and for all I know, I'm actually a step behind the trends.  First order of business?  Download my own books to my new device :-D.

With the holiday, I have several days off from the day job - in a row!  Planning to put full use to those days working on the Legend People (which is my newest completed story).  There are queries to be sent, proposals to be assembled.  Synopsi (what is the plural of synopsis anyway?) to be polished.  And now, books to be read.

Wishing everyone a prosperous and happy new year.

Abridging

First and foremost - Merry Christmas (and/or Happy Holidays)!

I have been busily writing query letters and a synopsis for my most recent story which I expect to start sending out after the holidays.  I sent out a "test the waters" query already, and it came back with the reply that they are out of the office until the first of the year.  I guess that buys me some reprieve and "polishing" time.  I'm still really excited about the story, in spite of being in the hard work portion of it; that being the editing and summarizing stage.

The holidays often bring additional stress, and this year, I'm making an effort to eliminate any unneeded stress.  One of these items is Christmas cards.  Do I feel guilty about that?  You betcha.  I also love the tradition of baking Christmas cookies.  This year, I made two batches - Saturday.  A week before Christmas.  I'd like to make more, but the goal in making them is to give them away and we're running out of days to give them away.  There's a chance I'll make more before it's all said and done, but that chance is greatly reduced.

In lieu of a Christmas card/letter, here are the highlights/lowlights of my year:

DH and I took a trip to Utah this spring to see Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park.  We also visited Antelope Canyon and took dozens of stunning pictures.  The landscapes are by far some of the most impressive I've seen in the United States, so much so as to inspire the story I've just completed.  My daughter set a wedding date after a prolonged engagement (to finish school).  One Young Son is finishing his second year of college and is well on his way to becoming an educator.  We saw one niece and one nephew married this year and several new additions to the family (babies!) in that generation either born or nearly born (we are near the due date for two of them).  On the lowlight side, we said goodbye to one of our cats this year.  He was 16 years old and lasted a good, long time before giving up the fight.  When he declined, it went quickly - which is the merciful news.

I think that brings us up to date.  Wishing you blessings in the new year ahead and I'll keep you posted on how the book progresses.

Peace.

Messages from the Universe

Coincidences, most likely, but motivation nonetheless.

I've written the last chapter, and it still needs work.  In fact, the most critical part about writing is rewriting and editing.  I'm at that stage, but suddenly I'm getting all kinds of messages from the universe (please note the tongue in cheek).  My horoscope is telling me to "put myself out there," which I am taking the liberty of interpreting as "start writing query letters."  I had a fortune cookie last night that told me failure is only a result of not following through.  Translation - "send out those query letters."  And on Facebook, my "message from God" says God is speaking to me and granting my request if I only put myself out there.  Translation - "Send out those query letters."  Hey, when the cosmos converges and sends the same message, who am I to argue?

And so I've begun the processing of formulating a query letter and constructing a synopsis, arguably the most difficult parts to writing a story.  I've been somewhat lazy with writing query letters on my last couple of stories and not very proactive.  Rejection can be difficult to deal with and I've had other things on my plate so I haven't been as dedicated to the process as I might have been.  But no more!  I have a lot of confidence in this latest story, and right along with it, renewed belief in at least one of the other stories that has been "stewing."  Translation - I'm writing query letters and I will be sending those query letters.  Taking a break from dreaming up new ideas and carrying forward new stories while I concentrate on the business end.  Of course that still requires developing and editing the requisite agent deliverables.

One of the major tenets of writing a query (of which I have recently been reminded) is to include the key points in your summary paragraph of the Goal, Motivation and Conflict of the story's characters.  On my first pass (aka "put something down on paper") I wrote a summary, but it was pretty bland.  Thanks to my critique partner for reminding me (see, it HAS been too long since I spent the necessary energy on these things).  Relearning old lessons.

So back to work while the cosmos is behind me and I have the energy and the motivation to push forward!  Onward Ho!

As it Fell Upon a Night, in the winter weather . . .

There's magic in the first snow of the season.  Yes, I know that soon enough it will grow tiresome, but until then . . . .

There’s something very peaceful about snow. You go to bed and it’s cold and stark, and somewhere in the middle of the night, a blanket of white falls from the sky, fluff by fluff so that in the morning, the world is quiet – muted – clean and crisp.

I went to bed stressed last night (welcome to the holiday season). “They” told us it would snow. I woke up in the middle of the night and looked out the window, and sure enough, “they” were right. In the dark of night, with the moon reflecting off sparkling snowflakes, there is a sense of wonder and magic in the world and an abiding sense of peace.

Then morning comes and everything is clean and bright, but that’s when it sinks in that there is work to do. Shoveling. Even still, in spite of knowing that driving is now going to be more difficult and the driveway and the sidewalk need to be cleared, with snow still falling gently from the sky, I’m still vibing peace and tranquility. It’s magic. Really, it is.