Winchester Writers Conference

Life has been particularly hectic in the last few months, with having to balance the increased demands of a full time job, family, and time for writing. But I’m still as determined as ever to be published.

A lot has happened since my last post. I repackaged and send out another round of submissions for Soul Seer (aka Delve), out of which I had another request for the full which was subsequently rejected. Unfortunately I didn’t receive any feedback. It was almost like getting a standard rejection letter for an initial submission.

I also started a new wip, a young adult supernatural novel, which I’ve called To Breathe Again. It had a slow start but I decided to spend a few days over the Jubilee weekend at a writer’s retreat in Sheepwash, Devon, run by the lovely Deborah Dooley and her husband. I spent three blissful days at their lovely thatched cottage. For once I could write without interruption, either in my room at the desk that overlooked the village square, or in front of the open fire, whilst Debs fed me and fellow guests throughout. I came away from Sheepwash having written c.15,000 words. My only regret was that I could not stay longer, and do not know when I’ll have the chance to return.

And then this weekend, I attended the Winchester Writers Conference for the first time. I arrived Thursday night, and booked into the student accommodation provided, situated conveniently next to the prison and opposite the county hospital. That I looked out my window and found some strange barefooted bloke stealing a plant from the grounds of the student village with his girlfriend pleading with him to ‘just walk’ was both slightly disturbing and amusing at the same time. In fact I saw the same couple throughout the night as I walked into town for dinner and then back to my room: at the garden centre next door as the guy looked set to steal an umbrella, and his girlfriend sat on a wall outside with her head in her hands. And then again an hour later, barely yards from where they’d started.

The conference ran from Friday to Sunday, with various talks and workshops on offer but it was the 121s that drew me, the chance to talk about Soul Seer with agents and editors, as well as the chance to network with other writers, notably my fellow Writeworders Sharley, Debac, Funny Valentine and SusieL, all of who were lovely. FV even won an award for Children’s writing 12+. First prize I believe. Well done, FV! And it was nice to see at dinner that the novel of another fellow Writeworder, Essie Fox’s Sonambulist was one of the novels being given away to conference delegates. I’m really looking forward to reading it. I also got to meet Teri Terry, author of Slated. Teri, I've started reading and it's great!

Back to the 121s, on the Friday I met with an editor who gave me some feedback and tips on how to make my work more commercial, as well as an agent that seemed interested in my current wip, but not in Soul Seer. Though I saw this interest in my new wip as a positive thing, by the end of the day, I felt completely despondent about Soul Seer and sought the advice of an Agony Aunt. I remember asking her the question ‘When do you know it’s time to give up on a novel, shelve it and move on?”

Saturday changed everything. Again I had individual 121s with an editor, an agent and an author respectively.  The agent I met with was lovely, and we had a really open conversation about Soul Seer. I agreed it needed another edit and suggested taking a main character out, who was essentially helping my protagonist to make sense of the new world that she was having to deal with.  We agreed it would be better for my protagonist to discover things for herself rather than be hand held through it. Then came the big question – was she interested in it if I dealt with the issues we’d talked about?  To my delight, she said she would be and not just in seeing the initial submission but the full manuscript.

I do realise that I’ve set myself a big task ahead. I’m taking on board much of the advice I’ve been given for Soul Seer – bringing the action forward, making some of the scenes more visual, removing a main character and giving the manuscript more of a commercial edge. And then there’s To Breathe Again, having agent interest in  a half finished novel.  I’m not quite sure where to start but I know that I’m going to be really busy in the weeks to come. So when I get home after work, I’m turning the telly off and getting on with the writing. And I may need to bargain with my family for some time to write at the weekend. I may be internet silent for a while too, but I’ll come back and let you know how I get on. Lorraine x

The challenge of a major re-edit

It's been a while since my last post but I've been quiet for a reason. After experiencing my first full rejection of Delve, I've been working on a major re-edit of the manuscript taking into account the feedback from said agent. And in doing so I've now transformed what was a steady 127,000 word manuscript into a much faster, pacier manuscript coming in at just under 95,000 words.

So how did I go about it and what did I learn? I kept a log of my edit and it makes an interesting read.

30th Jan 2012

I thought I'd start a main thread here re. final editing of Delve. I've cut about 13,000 words so far - extraneous stuff that wasn't really needed or adding anything, so down to just under 113k and now need to do a chapter by chapter edit.

6th Feb 2012

I spent Friday rehashing Chapter 2 to give it a new middle scene, and edit it around the edges. And now I've got to do the same with Chapter 3 which is basically amalgamate two previous chapters into one. So I'm still at the hard edge of editing it. Once I get more of the structural stuff done, I'm going to read through the rest of the chapters and take out bits that don't read quite right, or adapt them (but then we're talking cutting or re-editing paragraphs, sentences or words rather than full scenes).

13th Feb 2012

I've skimmed through much of the Delve edit today and have realised that I can't get my wordcount down to below approx 108k, and though it's better than the original 127k that I first subbed, I don't know if it's good enough. To get it down anymore I'll have to cut a major thread out that I wanted to keep in there, which would take it down to nearer 100k. God this is so hard! Not sure what to do.

17th Feb 2012

Couldn't sleep so got up this morning and decided that I need to find a way to get Delve down to around 95k. I've cut out two major threads which were'nt adding much to the core story but which I could bring in later in book 2 or 3. And I also cut out the near rape scene with Drew. It was the only scene where the POV wasn't Rowan's and I think in order to keep the POV consistent throughout it needed to go. So my wordcount is down to just under 100k now - 99,713 words to be exact. With a bit more fringe editing I hope to get it down to the magical 95k and I think that's acceptable for a YA urban fantasy, paranormal novel. There's something almost psychological about it being under 100k like the difference between 99p and £1.

26th Feb 2012
I managed some on the edit yesterday. Up to about chapter 11 and overall wordcount 98,500 words or there abouts. Another manic week ahead so you may not hear from me much , but I'll try to check in when I can.

29th Feb 2012
Made another bold decision to cut a character and scene that will get me nearer to the magical 95k. I didn't want to do it, but I'm being really harsh with my wip now. It's funny because when I look at my first wip it was 95k and then I completely changed some of the threads, and added additional scenes to take it to 127k and although I'm aiming to get back to the 95k, in some ways it's a different book. And though I'm being harsh now, I think it will be a much tighter and pacier novel.

3rd March 2012

Argggh! I'm now questioning some of my editing decisions. Well one or two at least, but if I listen to the doubts I won't hit 95k. What do I do? Of course, I know that only I can answer that question. Stupid mind! Think!

3rd March 2012 (about half an hour later)

It's ok. After a wobble, I'm back on track and avoided reversing my earlier decisions. The main structure is there now I think. Wordcount is 96,500 words. I'm hoping that a little fringe edit again will reduce it further but let's see.

7th March 2012

Thanks all. I have frequent wobbles throughout the day, and not just about writing, although I don't always broadcast them.

Anyway about three quarters of the way through the ms now, and I did reverse at least one editing decision - putting back in a scene that I felt was needed to move the story forward. My total ms wordcount so far is a tad under 98k words. I'm still trying to drive it down but I don't think there's alot of opportunity from here on in to do so. Still I'll have to wait and see.

Hoping to finish the full ms in the next day or so, and then I'll print it and do one final readthrough to make sure it all hangs together. TBH I'm getting bored now with reading it. I've done it so many bloody times now, but I think losing some of my earlier enthusiasm has helped me to be a much harsher critic on the editing.

23rd March 2012

Just a quick update to say that I think I'm there. My wordcount is 95,823. I'm going to print out and read through over the course of the weekend and may end up tightening a word or two here and there, but essentially I think it's as pacey and tight as I can get it whilst keeping true to the core of the story. Some of the things I have done do now have implications on any sequel but I just need get some interest in this novel first, before even worrying about a second.

31st March 2012

Final wordcount was 94,704 so really pleased that I bettered my 95k target if only by a bit. And I've kept most of my chapters around 2,000 to 4,000 words making it alot pacier I hope. And this afternoon, I've been working on my sub package for a new round of agent submissions.

And so in conclusion, I started out on this journey completely daunted by the task ahead. At times I hated what I was doing to my wip; there's something in that expression that people use 'murdering my darlings'.  But once I'd got past being so precious about characters or scenes, the manuscript really began to take a much better shape.

It took two months to complete the edit, and I learned that the key thing is to stay true to the core of the story, and to stick to one POV. And any scene, character, setting that didn't add to the story had to go.

During the process, I learnt to trust my instincts too, knowing which parts of the script worked and didn't, and though the whole edit was bloody hard work, I can say now that I actually enjoyed doing it. I not only have a leaner, meaner manuscript, but hopefully I can take what I've learnt to my next wip.

And the best thing about the place I'm at now - I can re-submit again, although I've decided to change the name of my novel to Soul Seer because in some ways it's a different book. Wish me luck.

Pitching at the Verulam Writers Conference - Get Writing 2012

It's been a while since my last blog, but by no means does it mean that I've been idle.

The last few weeks have produced both lows and highs. My lowest point came when I experienced my first rejection of the full Delve manuscript. That I'd got to the point of being asked for the full validated my believe in Delve and when the response came it wasn't the one that I'd pinned my hopes on. The agent in question gave me some really good feedback saying that the manuscript was too long at 126,000 words, slowing the pace, and that for a first time YA author I should be aiming at 65,000 to 75,000 words. The good news was that the story, the characters weren't the issue, so I knew that I'd got the formula right, but needed to kill my darlings to make it pacier. I bounced back the next day and began to work on the re-edit of Delve to cut the length, and up the pace.

And in amongst it all, I heard from a fellow Writewords member that there was a conference about to take place arranged by the Verulam's Writers Circle where attendees would get a chance to pitch their novels to agents and editors in the business. Well I couldn't miss such an opportunity. I had two completed manuscripts  - Delve, my urban fantasy, young adult paranormal novel, and x3 (previously titled The Curse), a chilling adult supernatural horror. I decided to pitch both, and spent the weeks running up to the conference making sure that I had samples for both (consisting of a synopsis plus first three chapters). With the re-edit on Delve, my first three chapters needed pace, and x3 needed to be dragged from first draft to a standard worthy of submission.

The Get Writing 2012 conference took place yesterday, 11th February 2012, at Hatfield University. There were the usual talks and seminars, all very well organised, but it was the afternoon that made it for me, having the chance to try and pitch my work. That and meeting fellow writeworders, Sharley, Astrea, Petal, Helen Black, as well as Judy, Nurgs and other writers. A short gaggle of witches was how Sharley's husband described us I believe, and my fellow coven members were all so lovely and down to earth.

My first pitch was a three minute pitch of x3 to horror author and editor, Adrian Chamberlin. I'd practiced the pitch the night before with my husband, while he tried to distract me with gestures from my son's cuddly monkey. But nothing could have prepared me for the sheer terror for having to stand in line, and wait to be called forward. I cut someone up just to get to the chair, and I delivered the pitch with my heart beating nervously in my chest. Adrian was lovely, and what was more - he liked it, wanting to see more. Big whooping yay!  The egg timer buzzed, and with the threat of being thrown out of my chair by the next person, there was just enough time for me to give him my sample, and for him to give me his details, and a collection of dark tales published by Dark Continents.

My next session was a 10 minute face time slot with Jane Judd, literary agent. She'd had sight of my synopsis and sample for Delve, and whilst she told me that I was a good writer, unfortunately the genre wasn't right for her. She talked about avenues I could explore, some of which I'd already tried, some that I haven't. She was again lovely, and I didn't come away feeling despondent, but spurred on to explore those new avenues.

Finally I had 10 minutes face time with Simon Taylor, editorial director of Transworld Fiction. He'd had sight of my synopsis and the first five pages of Delve, though he concentrated on both the title and the synopsis. The first thing he told me was that the title was a problem, something I'd never been told before, and which I might have to rethink. He gave me some really good advice on my synopsis, and the overarching story arc, and I talked to him about the rejections that I'd had, and that I was having difficulty finding the right agent for it. A theme was starting to manifest during my talks with both Jane, and Simon, which was that there are very few UK agents who deal with urban fantasy, young adult paranormal. And that whilst this type of genre was prolific in the states, in the UK it really hasn't taken off the ground. Great! I thought. No wonder I'm experiencing so many rejections.

And then something happened. There was one editor, at Little Brown, that I'd desperately wanted to pitch to, but who'd been fully booked by the time that I'd found out about the conference. And in an open Q&A session she talked about one of the genres she dealt with being urban fantasy, young adult paranomal romance where the romance is secondary to the urban fantasy. So far, bing, bing, bing! Then she said that there were so few UK voices that they'd seen. Bing!  At the end of one of the Q&A sessions, I pounced with a sample of Delve in my hand. Well I knew I'd never get an opportunity like it again. She took it, promised to read it, and told me that she'd asked for more if she liked it. And as I babbled, stalker like that she was brilliant, I knew that I'd done everything I could.  Now I'll just have to wait and see what happens.  

Sequels - The temptation to 'Tell'

After a well earned break of sorts, one that saw me restless and writing both a short story, and trying to tackle something of a plan for the rest of the Delve series, I’ve started to get down words for the second book in the series, aptly named Evolve. I always think of a tag line for each of my novels, something to capture the essence of the book, and to keep me on the straight and narrow as I write it. This one is simple – Rowan’s powers begin to evolve, but she soon learns that she can’t save everyone, not even those close to her heart.

Having said that, it’s my first time tackling a sequel and whilst I have a rough outline in mind which no doubt will develop along the way, I’m pondering over the whole area of sequels and the temptation to ‘tell’ i.e. to reveal backstory from Delve so that anyone picking up the second book without reading the first will have some idea of how Rowan, my main character, and the rest of the crew got to the point that they’re now at.

The temptation to ‘tell’ is strong but goes against my every instinct. So I thought I’d do a little research, picking three young adult authors, to see how they’ve tackled this particular area.

The first thing that springs to mind is picking up Passion by Lauren Kate, not knowing that it was the third book in a series of four. I remember reading the opening scene at the Racetrack and being really confused about who these people were, and the world that they operated in. Who were the elders, what the hell was the Zhsmaelin, and who were the Outcasts? It wasn’t until I purchased and then read both Fallen and Torment that it all started to make sense. So not much backstory going on there, but I’ve since found some subtle hinting here and there which I think is perfectly acceptable.

I’ve done the same thing with Maggie Stiefvater’s Forever, and I’ve found that it stands on its own without having to read any of the preceding books in that particular trilogy. Again she drops some subtle backstory hints, but it doesn’t detract from Forever, a story that unfolds in its own right.

And then of course, there’s the Twilight series. I found Eclipse on my bookshelf, and found on page 6 a blatant ‘tell’. That she would have to bracket the words werewolf and vampire to describe Jacob and Edward I think personally is going too far.

So I’ve got a way forward now which means I need to re-write part of my opening scene, to remove my own cringeworthy ‘tell’ and somehow drop enough subtle hints without compromising the integrity of Evolve as a stand alone novel within the wider context of the series. It will be a balancing act for sure, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.

And my wordcount target for Evolve? Well I know I’m not going to go at it at the same pace as The Curse which was as near to as a rough a draft as I could get, but I’m aiming for at least 2,000 words a day starting tomorrow. If I stick to this plan, I should have a decent first draft down by early March 2012.

This is where the real work begins.

Lorraine x

The Curse - First draft complete!

Finally I can say that I've actually to stuck to one my New Year's resolution. On 2nd January, I set myself the challenge of finishing the first draft of 'The Curse' (working title). I'd already pushed my way through December to 40k words, but the challenge was to finish the rest of the manuscript in 9 days.  At an average of 5,000 words per day, I saw it as a tough but achievable challenge. After all, I have a demanding full time job as well as a family. Of course, I could have used that as an excuse, but I didn't.

As at 12.30am this morning, I have completed my challenge.  I wrote for 9 consecutive days, and achieved during that time a wordcount of 36,473 words, averaging at just over 4,000 words a day. For those interested in the stats, this was how it went down:

Daily Wordcounts

Day 1   3,475

Day 2      630

Day 3   2,963

Day 4   3,435

Day 5   3,022

Day 6   3,819

Day 7   6,194

Day 8   6,175

Day 9   7,030

Total   36,743

Day 2 was my worst day. Not only did I realise that my plan was not as well thought out as I needed it to me, but I sensed a domestic on the horizon. But I really hit my stride from Sunday onwards, as I found all the elements coming together to make for a dramatic close. 

I'm pleased that it's done, and that I set myself the challenge and saw it through, ending up with a total first draft of circa 77,000 words. I knew that this particular novel was going to be technically challenging what with multiple POVs, switching timeframes, and forensic aspects. And when I come to look at it again, it will need a lot of development in order to refine it into the manuscript that I think is worthy of the original essence of the story. But for now, it will go on the back burner.

I think a well deserved rest is in order, although I know that it will peppered with all the things that I've neglected to do and need to get on with. When was that tax return deadline?  

I'll give myself a week, maybe two, and then what I really want to do is to pick up the Delve series again. My first manuscript is already out there. But I had an outline for another two, maybe three books in the series. And I almost can't wait to pick it up again, and start planning them out in detail.

Finally, thank you to everyone for your comments and support. They have really helped to spur me on.

New Year - Fresh Start

Well my Twelve Days of Christmas challenge floundered right around Christmas Eve. The bottles of plonk sitting under the stairs, and the obscene amount of food that we buy every year and then wonder why, lured me away from the laptop.

Still for a novel that I began in July of last year, and which had only reached 17,000 words by December, I found that the fact that I'd laid the gauntlet down to myself spurred me that much further on. I managed 15,307 words in total over 5 days which is almost as much as I'd done in 6 months!

I've been trying to get back into the swing of things again in the last few days, and I'm slowly climbing in terms of wordcount, with a total of 7,717 words in 3 days. And though we are now still officially within the 12 days of Christmas, I'm setting myself a new goal - to finish the first draft of The Curse by 10th January 2012.  My wip currently stands at 40k words, and I imagine I need to get though another 40-45k in the next 9 days, averaging at 5k per day. I think it's acheivable as I've proved to myself that I can write 5k in one sitting now, but I need to adopt the same fast writing priniciples from my pre-Christmas glories.

So a new year brings with it a fresh start, and this wip has been hanging around my neck for too long. I want to get it done, and then start to plan the rest of the Delve series.   After all, I may have wanted a break from Delve but I now feel the urge to go back to it, and with a new and fresh perspective as well as  agent interest, the timing feels right.

Here we go - Day 1 of 9 begins. Wish me luck.

Lorraine x

On the fifth day of Christmas

I thought it would be tough to meet today's wordcount target of 5,000 words, but as soon as I got into the flow of the story, it flew from my fingers onto the keyboard.  And I thoroughly enjoyed today's challenge - from dealing with switching viewpoints as well as timeframes, to developing my characters further, and finding new sides to them.

I beat my wordcount challenge once again, but this time by 14 little words. So total wordcount today was 5,014 words, and  I punched it out in roughly under 4 hours, averaging at over 1,000 words an hour. I still need to speed it up a bit, although sometimes that raises the inevitable question of speed vs. quality. At the moment, I'm getting the words out at a reasonable pace, and the quality seems pretty good. I wonder if I speed up, will the quality drop? I guess I'll have to try and push myself and see what happens. After all, the whole point of this exercise was purely to produce a rough first draft. 

Still I'm amazed that I'm actually doing it, meeting the challenge head on. Tomorrow I push it up a notch, with a target of 6,000 words. Onward and upwards.

Lorraine x