The Author's Life: Giving Birth to a New Book

I've started working on a new novel. I'm not going to tell you its name yet, but I can tell you it is a paranormal romance with a fun twist on an old foreign fairy tale; a dark book with a hint of whimsy. For now, we'll call it TBY.

As any of you who have kids know, no two children are alike. Some come out of the womb feisty and independent, others are timid and clingy. Dark and light, smart or slow, calm or volatile--each one has his or her own personality and style, and yet we love them all.

So it is with manuscripts. One of the things that has struck me as I've written the last couple of books is how different each one is from each other. I'm not talking about things like plot and characters (although that too, of course). I'm talking about how each book wants to be written.

Those of you who are authors already know what I'm talking about. Each book tends to show up with a different voice, new demands, and sometimes, what worked for previous manuscripts doesn't work on whichever one is on your plate right now. It's kind of strange, but also fun.

My previous approach was usually to outline the entire book (anywhere from 7-21 pages of general plot, character notes, who is doing what and why), and then just dig in and write it. On SEEDS OF CHANGE, the last manuscript, I tried that. And the book simply refused. I had to do some serious brainstorming with friends to even get the first 3 chapters down, and write the first 2 (one from the female protagonist's point of view, and one from the male's POV) in order to discover who they were and what they wanted. The book fought me until I was about halfway through, and then, finally, settled down. Hardest book I ever wrote. And that was before the massive revisions.

The current one, on the other hand, seems to be talking to me all the time. The characters are firmly in my head (a little bit too firmly, maybe...since I keep thinking about them when I'm supposed to be doing other things, like, y'know, driving). I have a few pages of notes, and I keep having to pop online to look up strange and obscure stuff, but I think once I have the first couple of chapters down I will be able to outline most of the rest, at least vaguely.

The big problem? I always do the majority of my writing at night. Usually between 7-10:30 PM. This book, however, seems to want to be written in daylight. No idea why. And I'm not sure what I've going to do about it. But sometimes, there is no arguing with your children.

Roof & Garden Update #1

Yes, yes, I know...you were hoping for something a little more glamorous...sorry, this is about as glamorous as it gets, at the moment. Well, all right, ever.

In writing news, the novel I was working on, SEEDS OF CHANGE, is officially out on submission. (That means my agent has sent it to a number of lucky editors, all of whom will love it. Right? Right?)

Needless to say, this can be a little nerve-wracking, so I have done what all good authors do under these circumstances: lit a candle, said a prayer, and then started the next book. Not only does this mean you have the next book ready, whether or not your first (or second, or third) one sells, but it also gives you something to think about besides "OMG--do they like it????"

In the meanwhile, back in the back yard, work proceeds apace on the new barn roof. For those of you who didn't guess correctly (which would be all of you--lol) the metal roof of the barn is....RED. (Really, have you not been paying attention? Red chair. Red pillows. It is the year of red, people. Man, it's a good thing this blog is graded on a curve. I'm just sayin'.)

My "rent-a-husband" George is doing an amazing job. He's half done already.

 Doesn't it look great?

And I've finally gotten the garden in (the last of the tomatoes and herbs went in today), as well as about 85% of the weeding. You never get 100% of the weeding done because, y'know, they keep coming back. *sticks out tongue at weeds*

But it is looking pretty good, I think.

That amazing tall stuff in the back left corner is garlic, in case you were wondering :-)

Do you garden, or have an indoor green thumb? If so, what is your favorite thing to grow?

My Holiday Weekend

How was your holiday weekend? Did you do anything fun?

Saturday was mostly spent doing gardening and housework, but Sunday was a relax and have fun day (although it was, in part, research for my current series, which features a hero who is a Seneca Indian). My best pal Ellen and I went to the Fenimore Museum in Cooperstown, NY--they have a fabulous collection of Native American art, including, at the moment, the Thaw Collection, which has been traveling the country. If you live anywhere near there, I highly recommend it.

Ellen and I went for the day's event, an Iroquois Festival. (The Seneca are one of a number of tribes who are collectively known as Iroquois, in case you didn't know.) There was amazing Native singing and dancing

And the folks doing it were lovely and friendly, besides being talented. In case you can't tell, I'm the one second from the right, with my arm around the cute guy :-)

I got to see a genuine bark longhouse, one of which I used in my book, SEEDS OF CHANGE. And was happy to see I got all my facts right :-)

And there were a lot of Native American vendors selling truly beautiful crafts and art--including this barrette, which I couldn't resist. (Because I have long hair, I tend to collect cool hair doodads...and this not only was my colors, but it had stars!)

Not only did I get to enjoy the museum, the Festival, and do research at the same time, and spend the day with one of my oldest friends, it was one of those rare *perfect* upstate NY days...low 80's, not too humid, sunny, and hardly any bugs. All in all, a wonderful day.

Then on Monday, I came back to reality, and spent some time in the hot & muggy morning, pulling massive amounts of weeds to reclaim the sort-of flower beds at the front of the house. I should have taken a "before" picture--but it would just have looked like a mess of overgrown unidentifiable greenery. This is what it looked like "after."

As you can see, once the heaping wheelbarrow full of weeds was removed, there wasn't much left...guess I need to buy some perennials to plant there. It gets full sun, and of course, it is Zone 4, so not much survives the winter. Any suggestions?

I hope you had a lovely weekend too. Anything you want to share about what you did?

Done! Done! Done! And also, DONE!

Huzzah and hurrah! The massive revisions on SEEDS OF CHANGE are done and I will be sending the manuscript off to my beloved agent in a few minutes. You know, as soon as I finish doing my happy dance.

The book went from 90,300 words to 111,058 words...that gives you some idea of how major some of the changes were. I guess that's what I get for naming a book "Seeds of Change," eh?

Did I mention, it's DONE?!

Of course, this is publishing, so it is only "mostly done" sort of like the "only mostly dead" of Princess Bride fame, but still. There is a distinct possibility that Elaine will have more (probably minor) edit suggestions. And when it sells, my then-editor will have still more. But for now, it's done. And you know...I think it doesn't suck :-)

What's more, it is done in time for me to take the weekend off to relax and celebrate my birthday, which is Saturday. Speaking of which, I have a special surprise gift for YOU my readers, to celebrate with me. So check in tomorrow to see what it is.

DONE!

*does happy author dance then falls over*

Revision Heck

There are two kinds of authors. (Well, really, a bazillion kinds, but in this particular case, usually two.)

There are authors who love writing first drafts and hate doing revisions. And authors who love doing revisions but hate first drafts. There may be some who love both, but I haven't met one yet :-)

The authors who hate the revision part call it "Revision Hell." And I am usually one of them. But something interesting happened while I was working on my latest book, SEEDS OF CHANGE. I kinda, sorta enjoyed the revision process. I'll tell you why.

Let me start with a confession. (No, not about that. We're not talking about my personal life here.) My confession is this: I don't tend to do a lot of revision. Or at least, I don't do big post-first draft revisions, in part because I edit as I go along (which catches a lot of the small stuff) and in part because I usually work from a very detailed outline (which prevents some of the big stuff from being a problem in the first place).

In fact, when I signed with my agent, Elaine Spencer, she told me that my manuscript (for Pentacles & Pentimentos) was the only one she ever sent out on submissions without having to edit it first. I tend to write very clean, tight books. And I learn from the mistake I make in each previous book, which means I'm making fewer  mistakes in the next one, in theory at least.

But SEEDS OF CHANGE fought me every step of the way. It didn't want to be written out first in outline form, although I had a pretty good idea of beginning and end, and some of what happened in the beginning. I had to do serious brainstorming with the fabulous Candace Havens and Heather Long before I could even get past chapter three. In short, the first draft process kicked my ass. And then when Elaine read it, she told me the manuscript needed some serious revision.

Normally, that would have freaked me out. But the truth was--I already knew it. And she liked what I had written, for the most part, she just thought the book needed MORE. More layers, deeper connections between the characters, more world building. And, thankfully, she had detailed notes and suggestions for how I could accomplish all those things. We had a great phone conversation to make sure we were both on the right page, and I sent both notes and ms to Lisa DiDio, the best critique partner on the planet for her input. And then I got to work.

 But to my surprise, instead of dreading the revisions, as I usually do, I mostly enjoyed them. I had lots of great pieces to work with (thanks to Elaine and Lisa) and plenty of ideas of my own on how to add things--it was more like trying to figure out what the bits and pieces were, and where they should be put to add the most to the story. In short, it was a puzzle--and I LIKE puzzles.

It took me all month, pretty much, but I've finished the major revisions. I'll spend the next few days doing another read-through and making sure I didn't miss something [when you make a lot of substantive changes, it is easy for small things to be left that no longer fit with the new stuff], and then send the new and improved version off to Elaine. Hopefully, before my birthday on Saturday, so I can actually relax.

I started the revisions with 90,553 words and ended up with 110,409 (and since I cut one huge scene, there were more words added than it looks like: 26K words and 81 pages of new material, in fact). The book is much improved and I learned some new skills along the way. It wasn't always fun, but it was an interesting challenge. Hopefully I will be a better writer for having done it.

And from now on, I won't worry quite so much about Revision Hell. Truth is, it isn't much worse than Revision Heck.

So, if you write--which part do you like better, first drafts or revisions? Inquiring minds want to know.

Done!

Two of my favorite words in the English language are "chocolate" and "wine."

But I'm also really fond of THE END.

There is nothing like the feeling you get, as an author, when you type those two words at the end of the first draft of a novel. After months of hard work (and much pounding of head on desk, and sometimes some cursing, and almost always at least one point at which you swear you're giving it all up and becoming a spot welder) you have finally crossed the finish line.

DONE.

Of course, if you're an author, you know you're not really done. There are still edits and revisions, and critique partners to read it and send you suggestions for more edits and revisions, and in my case an agent to sent it to. Who will also give me suggestions for edits and revisions.

So, not done.

But still...

I just finished the first draft of Seeds of Change, my sixth novel, (which makes it my twelfth finished book, if you count my nonfiction--and you'd better believe I do). That's something to celebrate. I was aiming at 90,000 words (as you will know if you have been watching the word count meter) and ended up with 90,553. Of course, after all those edits and revisions...who knows.

Still, for right now, it's DONE.

*does happy dance*

February Writing Report #1

I know that some of you are fans of my writing (bless you!) and many of you are also writers, so I've decided to start posting periodic reports on my current writing process. Feel free to chime in with what you're working on and how it's going in the comments!

You can also check to see how I'm doing by watching the new little word-count meter I added up top. I'm aiming at 90,000 words for the WIP (work in progress, for those of you who don't speak Author Jargon), although you never really know how long a book is going to be until it is done. And then you edit it, and it can change by a lot, so you still don't know. Urgh.

THE REPORT
The main project I'm working on at the moment is a post-apocalypse romance called "Seeds of Change." It has some small paranormal elements to it, and something of an urban fantasy feel, since it takes place in the aftermath of a catastrophic worldwide disaster caused by genetic seed manipulation gone wrong. [Side note: in researching the novel, I found out WAY more than I wanted to know about GMO's and Monsanto. Be afraid. Be very afraid.]

It doesn't sound like a cheery book, I know. In truth, it is darker than most of the things I've written. But the story itself is about survival, and hope, and the reader will end up (if I do it right) rooting for the two main protagonists: Alysia (a Wiccan) and Wolf (a Native American...and a hunk--if I could sleep with one of my characters, I'm telling you, he's the one).

I'd actually started working on the novel back in October--just doing research, some character and world building, and writing the first couple of chapters to get a feel for Alysia and Wolf. (The characters often come to me most clearly as I am writing them.) The story really fought me, though, and I finally had to set it aside to deal with the holiday rush and making jewelry to sell during The Season.

When I picked the story up again in January, it was still fighting me. I just couldn't get into it. But I'd promised my agent, Elaine Spencer, I'd work on this one. So I did some brainstorming with pals Candace Havens and Heather Long, and got through another couple of chapters. Did some more research. Then some brainstorming with my main CP (critique partner) Lisa DiDio. Wrote another chapter.

Then something amazing happened. The words started to flow, the story decided it wanted to be told after all, and three weeks later, I've written 37,666 words. As you can see from the meter, that brings me to a total of 48K and change as of last night, and that, people, is 53% of the book. (Assuming it actually turns out to be 90K, and frankly, who knows.) Whew.

This is as close to writer's block as I've come since I returned to serious writing, many years ago. (We're not counting the 15+ years in which I wrote nothing at all. That wasn't a block, that was not trying, and that's something else entirely.) It was scary. And unpleasant. But as you can see, muscling through it and refusing to give up--and knowing when to ask for a little help from my friends--got me through to the other side.

Although, interestingly enough, I think the most helpful thing I did was to start writing something else: a silly, fun, humorous paranormal romance with the horrible temporary title of "I Met God at Starbucks." I was just doing it for me, to get the words flowing again, but it really helped me to recapture that love of writing. I'll probably go back and finish it at some point, just for the heck of it.

GOALS:
By the end of the month, I hope to be at 70K with Seeds of Change, and have a completed outline for the rest of the book. (At this point, I'm outlining about three chapters ahead of where I am--not my usual practice at all, which is usually to outline the entire book before I start. What can I say...each book is different, and I just do what the voices in my head tell me.)

So--just so I know--is this the kind of thing you're interested in reading about on this blog, or did I just bore the pants off you all? And what are you working on, writing or otherwise?

Happy Friday!