‘10-9’ Category

  1. Making That Goal!

    January 12, 2012 by Megs



    Annnnnnd… Done! At 11:20 PM on January 9th, I crossed the finish line on Darkmore’s first round of revisions. Of course, now it’s January 12th that I’m making this post. Things have been a little on the crazy side on this end. You understand.

    On the morning of January 9th, I was three and a half chapters in the hole. Class started on the 10th. And pressure, I’ve come to realize, is an excellent motivator. I didn’t want Darkmore hanging over my head when class started. So, by a lot of willpower, and maybe a few bottles of Mio Energy mixed into a metric ton of water, the ending to Darkmore came out of my brain and onto the page.

    Is it the right ending? Maybe. Is it a better ending? No doubt. The new interpretation of the ending was based on comments from my critique group and made me realize, Sevon and Jack made it out of their ordeal much too easily initially. Now, everyone has been touched, changed, altered, or has a whole new outlook based on the outcome. Even the social classes of the kingdom of Darkmore ends up forever changed.

    I made the executive decision to mostly close off the story to the opportunity of a sequel. There is a possibility for one but it will more or less be a story within the same universe and not necessarily the same characters. There’s a few breadcrumbs dropped in here and there of those that could have stories. Sevon’s parents Anna Maria and Louis is a potential story I’m seriously considering. How did they meet? What adversities did they face? How did Sevon get in the picture? Jack’s brother and sister-in-law, Kaltag and Mirabelle, have a story of how they got to such a level of mutual adoration of one another. What did they face? Bianca and Chaney, the captain and second of Sevon’s royal guard, have their own remarkable history.There’s potential for three interlinking prequels right there. That’s not counting potential future trials and tribulations for Jack and Sevon down the road.

    I feel I’ve learned a lot more with this round of revision. I’ve learned more about the characters and about my writing. I’ve picked up a few new methods along the way. Such as jotting down beats to scenes as suggested by Rachel Aaron on her blog. Still figuring out how to work in a 10k word day without killing my life. But jotting down a loose road map to the final battle really saved my bacon when it came to crunch time!

    I’ve also experimented with eliminating thought verbs as Chuck Palahniuk explained here via la vie boheme and according to the critique group, while my work wasn’t shabby before, it’s definitely had quite a bit of a power-up.

    Now, all that’s on the menu is tweaking the ending and making sure that my sentences aren’t total gibberish. You try avoiding ‘was’ and ‘is’ usage and watch your sentences go pear-shaped. Or sentences that turn… how shall we say… A little too abstract and expressionistic? Or better yet, too freaking obtuse when you’re trying to choreograph a final battle. :|

    And then I get to go for round two with this thing, and a final round three. I’m giving myself only three times with this and then I’m shipping it out. I don’t want to be trapped in revision hell for the rest of my life.

    In two weeks, I dust 10-9 off and take a look at it again. I already have some pretty drastic measures planned. The thing is 91k at current. That’s a bit unwieldy for a romance novel. Some things are going to have to get cut and cut hard.

    Anyway. My class is about to start and I’ve got ten minutes to edit and post this. Whee~


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  2. The End And The New Year

    December 31, 2011 by Megs



    Once again, I grossly miscalculated. This time the miscalculation worked out in my favor! I’m so much closer to the end of the book than I thought! While exciting, it’s going to take some elbow grease on my part. I have to write the last seven chapters from scratch, and unlike when I wrote the final 7k the first time, I don’t intend doing it in a day.

    College is back in session on the 10th, and I intend finishing the first round of revisions on the 5th. It’ll be great having it out of the way! By my initial calculations the revisions would take eight months. I’m pleased that I’m finishing three months ahead of schedule! Once I bucked up and resolved to revise 7k a week things really got going!

    My critique group, provided nothing comes up between now and then, will finish going through it around February 14th. Accidental perfect timing on my part because it’s the exact date of the 20 year anniversary. I might need a cupcake. ;D

    Overall, I like the new direction Darkmore went in. I’ve said before the first draft wasn’t bad it just wasn’t the right. Of course, that’s just conjecture on my part. Darkmore has drifted from straight up romance and naughtiness all the time to a bit more of a action-romance still with the same naughtiness. ;D Instead of things concluding with a mere whisper of a warm fuzzy, I’m hoping that the new conclusion reads with the same emotional punch I’m visualizing. I want people cheering with the new ending instead of settling down with a ‘oh isn’t that nice….’

    I’m also kind of tired of being totally spoiler-free with talking about my stuff. I want to tell the world with all the tasty bits! I realize in the game of publishing that’s not a good idea. Alas!

    Also, I’ve busted out my calendar and blocked out my writing schedule for the new year. The table breaks down as follows:

    January 5th Darkmore Revision 1
    January 19 Darkmore Sequel Synopsis
    January – End of April 10-9 Revision 4
    May 12th 10-9 Sequel Synopsis
    May – July Draft Grow
    June 6th Submit Darkmore
    End of July – Mid September Expand Pawn Takes Rook
    October – First Week of December Revise Americana Fairytale
    December 5 Submit 10-9
    December 22 Americana Fairytale Sequel Synopsis

    Table Code Here

    Posting it here for accountability sake, plus I’ll stick it up on its own page so I can have a check off list as I go. I’m happy about it. I’ve managed to fit everything in I wanted to do in 2012. I guess it’ll be the Year of Revision and I can only imagine 2013 will be the Year of Writing.

    Happy New Year everyone! May you accomplish all of your goals!


    Category 10-9, Americana Fairytale, Darkmore, Grow, Novellas | Tags: ,,,,,,, | No Comments

  3. Piling Things On My Plate

    September 21, 2011 by Megs

    NaNoWriMo is six weeks away and I am the first to admit I am completely unprepared. I have notes on a dry erase board of telling me to check into X, Y, and Z that have been there since the summer. The book I’m doing this time called Grow, is an idea I’ve had in my head for four years, and it was initially meant as a gift for my mother. I had a false start with it back then, well, in all fairness I had come up with the idea two hours before NaNoWriMo 2008 kicked off at midnight November 1st.  I was full of false bravado of “Oh hey, I can do that!” A little easier said than done back then.
    My mother and I still once in a while discuss Grow. It’s kind of a once in a blue moon thing. When I had started school this semester she said to me point-blank “When are you going to finish Grow?” and I said confidently “This Fall.”

    Grow is similar to 10-9 in the years from Conception to Completion. 10-9 was the famous six years of false starts, rewrites, lack of confidence, and then just finally getting down to it. 10-9′s completion was also fueled by a friend’s comment that said “Let’s face it. You’ll never finish it. It’s your life.” Filled with righteous indignation I immediately thought, “Oh I’ll show you, Mr. Smarty Pants!”

    I spit out 10-9 from December 2009 to May 2010. I held up the box of the draft to my friend and he grinned. “Gotcha,” he said. And thus began my long history of writing things on dares. Because I can do it. And I will win.
    Grow began humbly, but it was the first flash of my mother discovering I could tell stories. In a way, Grow molded into something that brought us together. Somehow, the impetus of wanting to share this with my mother should be the thing that makes me bust ass on it. But it isn’t. I have yet to be dared to finish it. I have yet to have the gauntlet thrown in my direction.

    Thus, I’m unprepared. But isn’t that how NaNo goes anyway? It’s like surfing. You body surf the waves to learn the tides. Polite company calls that drowning. So NaNo you pretty much drown for a while until you figure out how to get on your surfboard of plot and claim the half-pipe.

    As for 10-9, who’s still sitting on a shelf after Awesome Rejection Critique… I know what must be done. I was struck with a fit of temporary insanity and just sending it on to the next publishing house without any revisions suggested by the critique made hoping they would take it as-is. Here’s the kicker. The Awesome Rejection Critique came from a company I had sent it to them twice. They did express that they could be interested in 10-9 down the road once I had clarified some bits and they had another look at it. Key word is could. Not a promise of acceptance.

    So my master plan is to do the edits, and ship it back in for three times the charm. Maybe lucky number three will be what does it.

    On top of that… I’m creeping bit by bit through editing Darkmore which is also for the same company. I’ve revised nearly 20k. That’s progress I suppose. I need a magical Time Management Fairy. Or 100-hour days would be spiffy.


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  4. Hacking and Slashing

    August 3, 2011 by Megs

    Darkmore: Flags of Disaster

    Oi. Darkmore. I remember reading this draft once and distinctly recalling not wanting to throw it in a fire! I really do!

    Now, I want to throw it in a fire.

    Okay, maybe not to watch it die a miserable death, but to forge it in the bellows into a stronger work. Yeah. That’s it. You believe me, right?

    I can recall 10-9 being this much of a disaster once, but that was so long ago I forgot how painful the process was. I recall the final polish being not so terrible. Of course, 10-9 is one of those things that sort of fixes itself. If there’s a problem with it, give me five minutes and I’ll have a solution. Putting that solution to work takes a bit of elbow grease.

    With Darkmore, I have my solution. I kind of feel like I wasted a few days looking for it because I kept telling myself to do one thing only my brain decided I meant another thing. The one thing in question was to consult the original outline. I initially decided to read the draft, make a running outline, and compare. No. What I should have done was booted up that outline first thing so I would have known what to obliterate with a tac nuke.

    Chapter Three and Four have ceased to be. Chapter Ten is the new Chapter Three, Chapter Sixteen is the new Chapter Ten, Chapter Seventeen is the new Chapter Eleven. And other sundries of massive switcheroos.

    With the crit on 10-9, I’ve discovered I am a total fiend for delaying things. The protagonists have to go through a hell of a lot of stuff before they meet and so on. Americana Fairytale doesn’t have this issue oddly enough. Being a romance writer, the two lovers must be on the playing field as soon as possible which is what I learned via the 10-9 crit. There’s a reason most folks only ask for the first three chapters or the first fifty pages. Because everyone is pretty much good to go in the plot at that point.

    My new thing with Darkmore is what’s going on with those ‘other guys’ of the supporting cast. So I’ve added in a couple of subplots to give a little more depth that these people have lives and relationships outside of my heroine Sevon. One such relationship I’m really excited to see how it pans out and if it comes across as a love that has spanned ages like I see it in my head.

    All in all, save tweaking every single scene in various levels of ‘gentle tweak’ to ‘jackhammer’ I have to write twelve chapters from scratch. Some are total rewrites of scenes, and some are all new scenes, and some is new material to make the shuffle of previously written chapters make sense in their new placement in the narrative.

    I’m only a third of the way in, and I’m sure more flags of disaster will surely get stuck on those red marked pages.


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  5. Darkmore Begins To Bleed!

    July 29, 2011 by Megs

    Remmi the helpful minion!

    At long last, the red pen is slashing across Darkmore’s pages with impunity. Pictured are the first three chapters… And a cute ittum-bittum-kittum. You would not believe how tricky it was to get the red marks to come out without making Remmi look weird. Anyway!

    I can say for certain, the start of Darkmore isn’t bad. I’m not disheartened out of the gate. But there are some things that totally need to be swapped around. And of course, with 10-9′s critique I’m finding similar flaws which is a good thing! The need to set up details sooner, more grounding information, and on and on.

    My mind is going double-time on how to work in Jack’s appearance sooner. He doesn’t show up until Chapter 10, and he doesn’t interact with Sevon until Chapter 14 if I remember right. This will not do. Gotta get the love triangle between Sevon, Dominic, and Jack going ASAP. As my good friend Rose says I think I may have just plot bunnied myself with a solution.

    I’m attempting a new method of revision as outlined by James Scott Bell in Revision and Self-Editing. I’ve read it before, dog-eared the crap out of it, and now I’m refreshing myself with it. I’m kind of taking it step by step instead of saying ‘But this doesn’t apply!‘ and skip a part. I’m treating as it all applies. And if I can get through Darkmore with it, I can attack 10-9 with it, and Americana Fairytale and so on down the line.

    Right now, I’m giving over and trusting the process. I’m having a hell of a good time with marking things up. Chapter One has needs a setting makeover, Chapter Two needs a bit added on, Chapter Three is a whole lotta clarifying. Chapter Four…huurrrrmmm… I haven’t gotten there yet, I know what’s in it, and I’m going to have to go ballistic on it. The object of the game is to prioritize before things get too overwhelming.

    Let’s get dangerous~


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  6. And They All Lived Happily Ever After

    July 26, 2011 by Megs

    Americana Fairytale Final Tally

    As of 5:17 PM Americana Fairytale is complete! Man, has this story been a blast! Once I got over the ‘Geeze, this is so stupid’ frame of thinking and realizing this is a story that doesn’t take itself seriously at all I was good to go.

    I had realized if I thought something was stupid it was likely funny so it got put in.

    AF over all was fairy effortless save the actual setting the ambiance. I swear I think I can practically tell you anything about the Roadside Americana locations in the book. Now, I kind of want to go on my own Americana Fairytale Road Trip. I never thought I’d really love the crazy kitschy things America has to offer. There’s a Corn Palace people! A palace of corn! Niblets!

    I know for certain this isn’t the last we see of Taylor, Corentin, and Ringo. I call the characters affectionate nicknames that ended up working into the story. Taylor became Tay-Tay and Corentin varies from Cor, to Cor-Cor, and the ever so adorable Cory. They will have many, or at least a handful of other adventures throughout this crazy world we live in.

    There’s a few things I know already I need to tweak or flat-out alter. But right now I’m in the glow of now being Miss Four-Time! Woohoo!

    Now on my plate is to edit Darkmore and get that tidied up. Plot the thing I’m going to do next. And… Oh yeah. Take on 10-9 again.

    The short and sweet of it with 10-9 is I got word back from Publisher #2. It was a no, but it was the nicest no ever.

    Publisher #2 was nice enough to give constructive feedback of things to address. Things that I had been too blind to notice after six years of constantly staring at it. Honestly, I was too excited for the feedback to feel bummed out about the rejection! They made sure to mention they loved the concept and while they don’t want it right now, it doesn’t mean they won’t later.

    So yeah. 10-9 I think is going to sit on a shelf for a little bit while I think of what a naughty child it’s being and what I’m going to do with it.

    In the case of Americana Fairytale… Which was kind of shot in the dark at well… Everything. I was kind of digging writing in the Young Adult swimming pool. I might be onto something…

    For an absolute dare to do this book was a riot. Thank you for daring me to do it. You know who you are. <3


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  7. Organized Juggling

    May 27, 2011 by Megs

    And now for a more coherent followup post!

    First off, for me now it feels like the ball is really rolling. I’ve taken that step and now I’m sending stuff out. I’m still waiting to hear if it’s a yea or a nay on Perfect 10, but now I’ve got 10-9 out there in the works once again. To go with a metaphor, it’s like I’m juggling balls. One ball is Writing, another is Editing, and another is College. I pretty much got it down with juggling Writing and College. I’m okay at Writing, College, and Editing, but not perfect. But now that I’m back to juggling just two balls Writing and Editing, I add a new ball called Submitting.

    When I started this whole mess, I just had 10-9. I’d edit it up, polish it up, send it out, and wait. Now, I realize I can’t just wait I gotta keep on trucking. Like my plan to at least get into the first draft stage of two books a year is finally getting into a rhythm. Technically, it’s a book I start in November, and a book I start in February. My Working Year is a little wonky to the Gregorian calendar.

    This year I’m trying to be different and draft something starting in July which will bring me to three book drafts a year if I can keep it consistent. Of course in with this I’m trying to teach myself how to juggle editing and writing at the same time. Part of my plan while working on the new book is to work in Darkmore editing. Right now, I’m slowly reading through Darkmore and I’m pleasantly surprised I do not want to shuck it in a fire with its miserable earlier version.

    I have charts for how all of this stuff fits together. To-Do lists. A dry erase board full of notes. Scratch pads on my desk for ideas that come to me for other stuff now, now, now! I am so organized yet make plenty of room for organic thinking I wonder what planet I was abducted to. I am obviously not the child my mother raised.

    My little product plug of the day is the Arc customizable notebooks by Staples.

    I have decided my Moleskines are for actual drafting of story stuff because I have no entirely easy way to find where I had handwritten an outline, or ideas for scene, or a character concept even though I color code the corner of the pages. The color code system is actually to denote each entry is separate and where one ends and the other begins.

    I had looked at the Arc notebooks back in March but refrained because of The Birthday Fairy coming in April. I got a Staples gift card for my birthday but it just sat in my wallet waiting to be used. Yesterday I bought my Arc. It’s a junior size, with expansion discs, section dividers, a project pad, a to-do pad, ruled paper, and task pads I can’t squeeze in there yet. Today, I have no idea where this thing has been my whole life.

    On the project section, I have the books I’m doing with basic notes. On the to-do list, I have things I have to do (well. duh.)  and steps I have to take on the books. The ruled paper is for extended notes/outlines/scene ideas what have you. All of it I can actually take out and rearrange how I wish. So, I want all my Darkmore stuff together? With a few clicks, I’m done. It’s like… What we called in art school a character bible. This? This is a writing bible. It’s portable, it’s sturdy, and it has everything when carrying my laptop would just be a hassle.


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  8. Off To The Wilds They Go…

    May 27, 2011 by Megs

    In case you don’t follow me on Twitter or Facebook which you can see in the handy-dandy sidebar on the right of this site…

    10-9 has been handed back in to Publisher #2 as of this evening at 8:16 PM.

    It is officially once again out of my hands. I will have  more coherent followup post… But right now I am going to drink Coffee of Victory and roll on the floor like a five-year old. It’s a ritual see. A ritual. Uh-huh. My story and I’m sticking to it.


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  9. Trust Instinct

    May 15, 2011 by Megs

    On May 11th at 10:37PM I shipped off my anthology submission, Perfect 10. The deadline is May 23rd but I just wanted it out of my hair. Thankfully, I got extra eyes to look it over and point things out I may have missed. Overall, I feel pretty good about it. It’s a different from the usual stories I tell, but it’s one of those stories that leaves a smile on your face when you finish.

    After playing a little email tag with the editor I should know if it’s a yes or a no a week or so after May 23rd. My guess is by early June. Then it’ll be decided if it’s Cupcake Day or another rejection to frame with celebratory coffee. I totally framed my very first rejection. It’s kind of fabulous.

    For Perfect 10, I had to really trust my gut that it was ready to send. It was ready by the end of April, but I kept tweaking it. I changed phrasing in the synopsis. I altered word choices in the query. I figured it was time to ship it and let it go. Oddly, I was not a rolling on the floor nervous wreck. Of course, I had myself distracted with 10-9 editing to take care of immediately after, so I didn’t have the option to roll around freaking out.

    As for 10-9, it’s nearly ready for resubmission to Publisher #2. I’m up to Chapter 46 now on the last tidbit of the book. If all goes well I should be finished tonight before bed. I’m also in the midst of Home Improvement Land in my house so distractions are aplenty. I’ve got another reader looking over the book and compiling her own notes and hopefully the two will mesh nicely!

    Also, I totally missed it last time but this post is the 105th post on NomChron. Huzzah! *throws confetti!*

    Now, to work! :D

     


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  10. 10-9: Take Two!

    April 7, 2011 by Megs

     

    My Fine Motor Control Is Epic...

     

    Have a small sampling of my horrible handwriting. I promise you I can read it!

    10-9′s new ending is finally in place but it’s once again going to take a little fine tuning and beating into shape. The final draft was originally 81k and now this version is tipping the scales at 92,693 words.  So I basically added 11k of stuff. Needed stuff. But stuff.

    The ending… Wow. The ending. I think I’m more or less in the completion glow of it but I think it’s everything I wanted it to be.  It starts out slow, and then builds speed like a runaway freight train. It definitely has the tension I was looking for as well as the high stakes of death overhanging. The villain is just plain scary. Seik absolutely shifted from that Dark Hero status into doing anything necessary no matter how vile to keeping his world in order. It’s kind of funny because while he’s creepy he’s admirable but then at the end he just snaps.

    I’ve converted my doc file into an eBook for a convenient carry anywhere read through. Sides that way I can get a feel for how the book will look once published. All that remains is a thorough grammar checking because, shock and amazement, I can tell a story but my grammar still flubs.

    I’m a little nervous about Publisher #2 because while they asked for a revised ending and did say the book appears to be a good  fit with the company… I wonder if I wandered too far out of the parameters of fitting in with the company’s material. All in all, I feel pretty accomplished. I submitted the book in February and took two months to get the new ending in place. However, I’m looking at late May for resubmission.

    I’m trying not to get too hung up on if they pass on it or not and if I should jump and take it elsewhere. I think the idea of jumping is the worst thing I could do. I need to send it back in and see what they say first and just cross my fingers it’s good news.

    In other news, Monday is my birthday. I plan to kick back, relax, and eat cupcakes. :D


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