For the Criminally Inane

Well, I re-wrote the and rearranged the first chapter and I think it's getting better but it might still have too much exposition in the beginning. Hard to get the delicate balance. Read the "First Five Pages" by Noah Lukeman and it had some good ideas. Read also, Write Away by Elizabeth George and that had some interesting insights.

I had a miracle. A small miracle, but I'll take it. A guy at church gave another guy reams and reams of paper, already hole-punched, perfect for the aspiring writer. He gave us a Corolla-trunk full for starters. I'm excited not to have to feel a pinch for paper. This will probably save us a couple hundred dollars.

I checked out some of Janette Rallison's books from the library. Clean, funny,chatty which I love. My fav so far is: Fame, Glory and Other Things On My To-do List . Check her out.

I love my library and my library card. They give me access to so many free things. This week it was a Mystery writers-go-round. Thirty-five people or so signed up to have breakfast with some local mystery authors at our public library. We sat six or so to a table and the authors did a "speed-dating" style go-round where they spent only a few minutes at each table answering questions. One of the most meaningful things one of the authors, (Angie Fox NYTBS http://angiefox.wordpress.com ) said when one of the others asked how to continue writing. She said (I think this would be copyrighted) : You have to find a story that excites you that makes you want to go to the computer and write every day. I am now passing this on to you. I, like her, only write what I would want to read. I love my stories and my characters and I think it shows.

So, I'm waiting for my family to get back to me with some edits of the last draft of my novel. My family, thankfully, is pretty blunt. We don't walk around on eggshells. But, just in case, I found a friend at Church who claims to have missed his call as a professional proofreader to take a peek. Hopefully he doesn't hate my entire premise. For the record, my mom said she enjoyed reading my book. She said she read it with a smile all the way through. (It's a comedy. I was hoping for laughs, but it's a YA novel and she's sixty. I'll take the smiles.) She had some good feedback, too. My youngest brother read it (stayed up till three am to finish it--I think we have reading addictions in my family) and said that he verbally tee-heed through some of the parts! Wow, for a man who never laughs at loud at anyone's jokes, tee-heed! That's a compliment. See world, what is in store for you?

My husband and I read this book from six until midnight yesterday. Besides dinner and tucking the kids into bed, it took us six hours reading out loud through most of it. I decided to read it since it's always good to see what's out there, what's selling. Here is my review: Man, are there tons of Mormons running around London? In the first few chapters, she mentions a guy she met on the train whose wife is having their fourth child. Four children? In Europe? Must be Mormon. And then Becca Bloomwood was dating a guy who doesn't believe in pre-marital sex. Where you you find these moral guys? In London? Sweet! But then, she notes that for the above-mentioned morality the reason she broke up with him. Instantly, I don't really connected with her. I don't feel an affinity with her unbridled shopping. I love her voice, chatty, funny. There was also a gratuitous love scene at the end. And, um, at least five F-words which didn't make me very happy. ...

Hm.... Chapter one is the most important chapter and the hardest one to write. So far as it stands, my chapter one is about ten single-spaced pages. It sets up characters introduces both the main conflict and the sub-conflict and yet, I'm not satisfied. I let a few close friends, a sister, a mother- and sister-in-law and my mom read it. Everybody said something different. My MOTHER thought it was boring. It didn't suck her in like Twilight. Ok, from now on, any young adult writer will be compared to Twilight--don't let that discourage you. My sister laughed her head off. But she's like me and we shared the same room and brain for 16 years. Of course, she'd like it. My sister-in-law thought it was crass because of the words "boobs" and "butt" and too sexual for mentioning spawning. My friends thought it was pretty good, but perhaps a little twee. Um, yeah. So, I've decided that I can't please everyone. Sooooooo, I'm going to w...

Today I bought plane tickets to Arizona. I'm flying out tomorrow. No, no one in my family has died, thankfully, but I came across an opportunity I didn't want to miss. Ten authors are hosting a charity benefit for their booking agent. It's so touching that these authors would donate time and their books to their friend. I paid 100 bucks to hear a panel discussion by these wonderful giants in literature. It won't be a waste of money because it's going to a good cause. I am bummed today. I got some feedback for my novel that wasn't very positive. It's not discouraging, but it makes me wonder if I'm doing it all wrong. I've only let 2 cold readers read it. My first person loved it. She thought it was compelling and wanted more. The second suggested a whole rewriting. I value the feedback and I am grateful that anyone would dwindle their time reading my boring ol' novel. I am appreciative of their time and effort and I am indebted to th...