A Manuscript Reunion Revisited

I just had to pull this oldie and post it today. I am trucking through that 2013 manuscript...going through my second round of edits...and let me tell you...IT. IS. A. CHORE! I love the story one minute, then wail about it the next. I just feel like I need to find a cave and stay there until it's to my expectations--but then again, my expectations might be a teensy bit unreasonable!

Would love to hear from you all today! Ever dusted off an old manuscript? What challenges did you face?

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I can't stop my smile from growing when I hear a friend's voice on the phone or receive a piece of mail from a friend who I haven't seen in a while.

A couple weeks ago, I had a full day of smiling as I received phone calsl back to back from TWO AlleyCats and a note from another Cat that afternoon! Wow, talk about feeling loved. At least once (sometimes twice) a year, many of us AlleyCats spend some quality time face-to-face, reminiscing, brainstorming, supporting each other, and building special friendships of a lifetime.

In perfect writerly fashion, I am going to use our little reunions as a segue to my most recent encounter with an old manuscript that is suddenly rising from the drawer it was stuffed into.
I feel like I am reuniting with old friends as I remember the characters who I spent a a a a a LOT of time with three years ago.

While my AlleyCat sistas and I seem to mesh upon first squeal, there are differences with my fictional friends who make that manuscript reunion not only reminiscent, but a teensy bit awkward...and even deflating.

Have you ever picked up an old story and reacquainted yourself with the characters? What did you discover?

Did too much time pass by that you no longer have anything in common with your imaginary friends? I mean, do they seem shallow and flat and just a reminder of how much growing you've done while you were apart?

How about things that may have seem like scars or wounds in your characters' lives, now seem small in comparison to the real life experiences you as their creator have endured?

No matter how disappointing I might feel with the 2013 version of Angie's made-up people, it's a good thing in a way, because it reminds me that I am growing in my craft, my experience, and my knowledge. I look back and regret the failed submissions and unfruitful queries LESS. I get that 20/20 hindsight that I simply wasn't ready to introduce the world to those characters back then, and I now have the opportunity to develop deeper "relationship" with my people after all I've learned.

Writing is a beautiful thing when we grow, we learn, and remember our footsteps to creating a beautiful story, a perfectly flawed character, and find a most opportune chance to touch an audience--in perfect timing.

 I am just thankful that in my non-fiction life, I have friends like the AlleyCats who push me further down the road as a person, a writer, and a friend, so I can make my fiction shine even brighter.

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Angie Dicken is a full-time mom and lives in the Midwest with her Texas Aggie sweetheart. An ACFW member since 2010, she writes historical, historical romance, and dabbles in contemporary romance. Her first two novels come out Fall 2017. Angie is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of The Steve Laube Agency. Come hang out with me on social media!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/dicken.angie, 

Twitter: @angiedicken
Pinterest: pinterest.com/agdicken

Excuses, Excuses! What's Stopping You From That Rewrite?

 I pushed forward, consuming my first draft in edit mode. I rekindled my love for my story, characters, and setting. A few tweaks here, a few deletes there. All the while, there was a tug in the back of my mind, trying to slow me down. It was coming, and coming fast. The sleeping monster's snore was getting louder, reminding me of what lay ahead.

It can't be that bad, I kept telling myself.

After all, I didn't have any major problems, just adding a few scenes for punch. Surely my memory failed me. I didn't really have a tangled mess in chapter twenty four. I probably just needed to erase and replace, brush away that old plot thread, and weave in the one I intended.

No problem. Piece of cake.

Eh. Not so much.

That sleeping monster: the not-so-great chapter....opened its lazy eyes, and began to stretch its arms, shoving away all my attempts to avoid picking him up and plopping him in the trash. It would be a struggle, wouldn't it? Too much time to try and fill in the giant gap his absence would leave. Perhaps I can just dress him up, so he “looks” good. Maybe, just maybe, he's not so bad after all.

And the little girl inside of me fell to the floor kicking and screaming:

"Please, please, please don't make me start over!"

Today, from my own experience, I want to suggest three excuses that may try and distract you from that task at hand, that inevitable step to truly polishing your manuscript before submission...even if it means that horrible word: REWRITE.

Excuse #1: Tweak what you have to fit your new plot line. So, in my case, I needed to readjust the plot. During that first draft, I had gone down a rabbit hole, and while it might have been an intriguing story line, it really was for a whole different book altogether. But, I really liked my set up, my language, the whole “feel” of the scene. There is a major problem though, when you try and fit a new scene into an old one...your characters throw a fit.

Consider your arc: would your character really do that, say that, or find themselves in that place on this new journey you've invented?

You can't just peel away the top layer and slap a new layer on it. You've got to consider the whole onion (as one particularly green monster would say. Any guesses?).

Excuse #2: Ignore your gut, it is good enough. But is it? You've written a whole manuscript. Certainly that tucks some more-refined skills in your writer's pocket? Each page you write, gives you the chance to get better. Why else do you edit, anyway? So, when you get to that scene you may have written a couple months ago, don't settle for last month's “good” when this month's good might have reached a whole new level.

Consider your own growth as a writer: Is this scene truly reflecting your best creativity, your strongest representation of the story in your head? Or does it have a hand-me-down feel, a poorly sewn patchwork of character motives?

Excuse #3: After excuse #1 and excuse #2 wasted away my time, I heaved that ugly monster and tossed him in the trash. But then came something that has not visited me for a long time: 

Writer's block.

Yeah, my plot was off, and what I thought would help was a good ol' fashion tweaking. That obviously didn't work. So now what? How can I make this worth reading to, reading thru, and hooking the reader for what's to come?

I found three things that sparked my creativity, choose one or more: 
 Crit partner brainstorming session: This is my favorite. My crit partner knows my story and my characters almost as good as me. And she also knows me. When I ask for her advice on a new plot thread, or keeping an old one, she can see through my laziness in not wanting the change, or she comes up with questions that dig deeper than the plot that's blinding me from what my characters want and need. It's always nice to have a second pair of eyes no matter what part of the process you are in, but when writing block hits, crit partners can be huge in breaking down that wall!

Research: No matter if you write historical or suspense, sci-fi or women's fiction, research doesn't just happen before you write. Sometimes you need to tap into research to spur on what's going to happen next. Since I write historical, I can look at events of that time, and decide how would my character react to them? Or perhaps there are other people's stories you come across that spur an idea? Would this be good to include in your plot to push your story forward? Even if it's a tid bit of research, if it gets you into your character's head and on to paper (or screen) then you can write yourself out of writer's block.

Take a break and read: Let your writer's mind rest. Step away from the story and jump into someone else's world for a while. Sometimes we focus so much on our own story's jagged edges, that we can't remove ourself from the snag to see the bigger picture. And sometimes, your creative juice bank needs to be filled up...which usually always happens when you dive into someone else's art for a while!

Do any of these stop you from moving forward in your rewrites? What other excuses have you told yourself to keep from writing the best for your story?
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Angie Dicken first began writing fiction as a creative outlet during the monotonous days of diapers and temper tantrums. She is passionate to impress God's love on women regardless of their background or belief. This desire serves as a catalyst for Angie's fiction, which weaves salvation and grace themes across cultures. She is an ACFW member and CEO of a family of six.

 

When To Hit Send?

Photo in Flickr Creative Commons by Horia Varlan

 A few weeks back, I wrote a post on After You Hit Send. After working on sending out my full, I have come to realize the big question... 

When to Hit Send? 

I sat there, with my finger poised on the mouse...one small touch would send off my manuscript into cyberspace all by its lonesome...with no assurance that it would be of any interest at all. I quickly texted my fabulous crit partner (Alleycat Ashley) and asked her,

"When do you know when you are ready to submit?" 

It felt weird to say that it was ready. Like I was being too rash...too presumptuous that it was polished enough. Ashley wrote back:

"Do you feel at peace about where it is?

 If the recipient were to reject you, would you feel good about it, like you gave it your best shot?" 

Oooh, good questions, don't you think? I pondered them, and looked back on all the steps I took to get to these final two questions. There were quite a few steps, and some were lengthy, but these steps helped inch that manuscript closer to cyberspace in the long run:

Photo in Flickr Creative Commons by goXunuReviews

1. POLISH: After typing 'The End', you most certainly are not at the end, really. It's only the beginning of the next phase...Editing. Typos, sentence restructure, plot inconsistencies, character arcs...don't get too dizzy. Alleycat Sarah wrote a great series on the Self-Editing Checklist to help with this step.
2. SEND IT: Not to agents or editors..but to friends and colleagues. Find some friends who read, preferably your genre, as well as professionals (that you know!) and/or crit partners. Get their overall feedback, suggestions...and wear thick skin!
3. POLISH once more, according to their feedback...at least the feedback you want to listen too. One of my friends told me a major plot point wasn't believable, but I didn't agree. Fortunately, the Alley Cats are a great sounding board and confirmed my hunch. Checks and balances are important when it comes to your story and your voice. If you feel strongly about why you wrote it, how you wrote it, and get some resistance from readers at this step, make sure you are honest with yourself, but also stand your ground if it's important. (It's always nice to have a crit partner at this point, because then you have someone who knows how you write, your story, and about the writing craft.)
4. FORMATTING is sometimes an afterthought, but SO important to make your piece really shine. Be sure you have the chapters numbered correctly (I have found this mistake more than once in my own manuscript), and that your margins are 1", a readable font through out, and proper spacing for chapter breaks, scene breaks... all that fun technical stuff. (Blah!)
5.  STEP BACK and marvel at your shiny piece. You have accomplished a great feat. It's something to smile about!
6. SLEEP ON IT. 2 a.m. is not a good time to hit that button. You'll want to skim through any new parts you've added and be sure you've gotten all those pesky typos. Tired eyes aren't trustworthy.
7. TEXT your crit partner for final encouragement....and move to the next step:
8. ASHLEY'S QUESTIONS: Yes, friends, they are from the mouth of a very trustworthy friend and crit partner, and I suggest you ask yourself also:

•   Do you feel at peace about where it is? 
•  If the recipient were to reject it, would you feel good about it, like you gave it your best shot?

If you can honestly say yes to both of these, then you are ready!

Now to tackle that query! Here's an older post to give you a start.

Any other steps you take to make your manuscript shine?

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Angie Dicken first began writing fiction as a creative outlet during the monotonous days of diapers and temper tantrums. She is passionate to impress God's love on women regardless of their background or belief. This desire serves as a catalyst for Angie's fiction, which weaves salvation and grace themes across cultures. She is an ACFW member and CEO of a family of six.

The Importance of Being Polished: Character Inconsistency

Have you ever watched the first episodes, maybe even the pilot, of your favorite t.v. show? Mine is/was Friends. I cringe as I see the early years...it seemed like the actors weren't quite as comfortable in their character skin...pushing the lines like they were still trying to decide exactly “how” their character would say them. And if you know the series really well, you'll see that the writers may have created history for the character in the second or third season that doesn't quite match up with what they originally showed in the first season.

Just like t.v. shows beginning episodes may have inconsistencies with their characters' storylines and personalities, after you type "The End" and go back to the beginning of your manuscript, you'll want to watch for the characters' inconsistencies. I'm not necessarily talking about character arc, but about believability in who your characters are and what situations they find themselves in, from beginning to end. Unlike a T.V. show audience, a reader is less forgiving of hiccups like these.

For most of us, those first chapters are written months before the final ones, so your characters take on a life of their own once you get into the story. As I go through and polish my manuscript, certain things my characters said and did at the beginning, were way out of character after knowing who they really were by the end of the novel.

For example, if your character starts out as being confident and outspoken, but you develop later in the story that she has some past issues that give her some major insecurities, you are going to want to be sure to at least hint to those from the beginning so the reader doesn't think you pulled it out of thin air to spice up the story. Believability is jeopardized when this happens.

When you polish your manuscript, be sure to keep your characters in check, and even though they should grow throughout your story, be sure they are still “themselves” from beginning to the end.

Have you discovered hiccups among your characters as you polish your manuscript?

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Angie Dicken first began writing fiction as a creative outlet during the monotonous days of diapers and temper tantrums. She is passionate to impress God's love on women regardless of their background or belief. This desire serves as a catalyst for Angie's fiction, which weaves salvation and grace themes across cultures. She is an ACFW member and CEO of a family of six.

Talking Heads In Your Novel Writing

Photo by geralt @ pixabay

In the beginning of my writing journey, I was overcome by an invasion - an invasion of the Talking Heads. I was blindsided by these creatures, because I didn't know any better. These Talking Heads took over my manuscript until I learned how to creatively combat them.

Talking Heads occurs when two characters converse together without any action, description, setting, or mood. It's just two people talking back and forth, confusing the reader as to who is who, and therefore losing the flow of the story.

So how do we get rid of these pesky buggers? 

Action Tags: Break up the dialogue with action from the character. Have a character cook, open the refrigerator, get a drink, pick up toys off the floor, etc. Simple things that a character can do will help identify them and give the reader a sense of placement in the scene.

Descriptive Setting: Add a touch of descriptive setting into an action tag. Have the character pick at the folds of the red checkered tablecloth; or plop into a worn, threadbare recliner; or step over a huge mound of dirty laundry. These give the reader hints into the life of the character and anchors them into the scene.

Inner thoughts: Get into deep POV and express the thoughts of your character. Have your character say one thing, yet think the total opposite. Or let the character think through a problem he/she is arguing about with the other character.

Body Language: This may be one of my favorite things to combat Talking Heads. Using the character's body to give a sense of their feelings helps to identify them in the scene. Have your character roll their eyes, heave a sigh, slam a door, or run their hands through their hair. These convey (show) feelings instead of "telling" them to the reader.

What else can you add to the list of defense against the Talking Heads?

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This post is brought to you by

 Sherrinda Ketchersid

Sherrinda is wife to "Pastor John" and mother to three giant sons and one gorgeous daughter. A born and bred Texan, she writes historical romance filled with fun, faith, and forever love.

Short, sweet, and to the point

I've tried off and on for 3 days to try and write this blog post. I'd get something down, and quickly delete it. Nothing seemed right.

It doesn't help the matter that my daughter just got a heart transplant on Saturday evening and I'm going on very, very little sleep this week. She's doing great, but the recovery process is exhausting (more so for her... but Momma's hitting bottom of barrel too!)


So I am going to be short, sweet, and to the point today.

Life goes on.

After contest finals, and contest fails.
After manuscript requests from agent/editors, and after manuscript rejections from agents/editors.
After news of your baby's heart defect, and after heart transplant.

Life is full of ups and downs. The writing life included.

Embrace the highs,
hold tight during the dips,
and rest up during the breaks.

Scoring a Well-Rounded Manuscript: Voice

For many of us, time and practice help us become better writers, and more knowledgeable of the craft. We learn and get critiques and study and write, write, write, to help improve each manuscript. And we discover over the years that there are certain elements we want to include in each story to make it as well-rounded as possible.

I like to look at it like the game of bowling. Yep, scoring a well-rounded manuscript is like scoring a strike. Your goal with each roll of the ball is to knock down each and every pin, just like your goal when you attempt each new story is to encompass the most important elements of fiction or non-fiction writing and get it into your story.

These elements include everything from plot to characters to sentence structure. But today we're going to talk about Voice.

I see Voice as the lead pin. It serves that position well because, in order to score a strike, you need to hit this lead pin. It touches the rest of the pins necessary to score well. Similarly, in writing, Voice touches and makes an impression on the rest of the story in order to accomplish your goal.

So what is Voice?

It's your own unique writing style. Your vocabulary, the tone in which you write, your style, sentence length, etc. All these things are part of Voice.

How do you know your Voice?

Ask yourself these questions:

What style are you drawn to when you read?
What entertains you and inspires you to write?
What comes naturally to you when you put pen to paper?

And how else can you determine your own unique writing signature?

Try:

Journaling or blogging
*What comes out naturally, whether more poetic or more staccato or something else, is typically the writing style that's going to suit you best and sound unique to you.

Free writing or a writing prompt
*Use a writing prompt, like a set scene, or even a picture, and free write about it for around ten minutes to see what comes out.

Experiment
*Practice and try new things. Experiment with styles, POVs, tenses, and even with genres if you're just starting out and not sure where you fit (humorous, literary, etc.) in fiction or non-fiction.

Let others in
*Allow others to read your work. Sometimes you have a very distinct voice and don't even realize it.

I'd love to hear how you all discovered your voice or if you're still experimenting, so please share in the comments.

Also, this is the final day of our Giveaway Party! If you'd like to win a copy of Denise Hunter's Surrender Bay, please leave your e-mail address in the comments. Winners will be announced tomorrow.



***photo by battlecreekcvb

Expanding Essence

I searched for the perfect word to express today's topic.  Thanks to my thesaurus I found the word "Essence." In search of a definition for essence I found this site:  wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn   where they defined essence as: 


 The choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience


Essence is the attribute or set of attributes that make an object or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity.


The essence of our WIP is the core, the engine, the foundation.  Without essence we don't have a story.


I find myself swinging a pendulum in my writing--too many words, too few words, adding fillers, writing too tight, explaining, criptic--ever seeking balance or compliance--never landing on "essence".


Sometimes our drive is to meet a given word count. We may add or take away from our story in pursuit of this goal.  But the focus needs to be on the essence of our writing.  Conference teachers teach the importance of keeping to the word count, but they also emphasize word count should not be the engine of your product.


Today I want to focus on the pursuit of expanding essence in our WIP. 


Say you walked through the front door of a mansion.  You scan the room from left to right and immediately make a choice. You turn to the left, leaving whatever is straight ahead or to the right behind you.  You walk throughout the mansion making numerous choices--should I eat the candy in the bowl--curl into the dumbwaiter and ride it upstairs, open the cellar door, force the cupboard open?  Each choice made is another choice rejected. 


You might have heard from your main character. Perhaps he told you, "Go to the left...the answer is there, trust me."  To this I ask your character--why?  What are you afraid of?  What is to the right that you're afraid to face? Why did you have the answer so quickly? 


Think of your story.  What if your main character first turned to the right, drove a different way, got on a different flight, received a call before, skipped a meal, took the wrong medicine, met Jane first, found the acceptance letter to that other school or job first....  What if---what if.  Step back from your story or outline or thoughts for a moment and wonder with me how would your story be strengthened or fortified, layered with mystery or intrigue, infused with conflict or need if.... 


Join me this month as we explore different areas to expand the essence of our WIP. Part two next week.

Comfy Words: Manuscripts You Can Enjoy

By Mary Vee

The alarm went off at 5:30 am this morning.

Being an organized person, I’d hung my outfit for work on the doorknob last night before crawling into bed. Once dressed, I made a final inspection in the mirror. To my horror, I found a stain on the sleeve. Nothing dramatic, but definitely noticeable.

I spent the next fifteen minutes tossing shirts on my bed--too bold, too dressy, to plain, too tight, too baggy—and then the perfect shirt appeared. I gazed in the mirror at the perfect outfit for the day.

Each rejected shirt has had the perfect time and place to be worn. Today wasn’t the day. I slipped passed my writing nook and thought of each manuscript I’d sent to a publisher. Like the shirts, each manuscript has had the perfect time and place to be used, some are designed only for me. My job is to prepare each work to be suitable.

The comfy flannel-shirt manuscript:

My first novel, written a few years ago, still sits on my desktop. I love this story. I get a comfy feeling when reading this adventure. Its like putting on a soft, warm flannel shirt at the end of an intense work day.

A new flannel shirt, fresh out of the package, feels stiff, somewhat scratchy, and is laden with wrinkles. If I'm willing to invest time, I can enjoy it's potential comforts. First, I'd remove straight pins and fluff the fabric then wash and dry the garment using detergent and fabric softener. Soon after I can enjoy my soft, warm, and relaxing flannel shirt.

The first draft of my manuscript read like a freshly bought shirt. Dialogues sounded stiff, descriptions scratchy, and I found wrinkles in time.

While taking a writing course, I discovered some helpful tips:

**My teacher suggested I remove extraneous words. Although they seemed crucial to the story, they actually restricted the free movement of my plot. Dialogue tags, adverbs, and restating sentences poked and pinched me as I deleted them like the straight pins in my flannel shirt.

I reread my work and noticed a marked difference, but still, it sounded stiff.

**My teacher suggested I read my words out loud to determine if the dialogue flowed. To my surprise, the words sputtered and staggered from my lips as though I were a ma--chine--read--ing--words. Scene by scene I rewrote character's words as they would have spoken. Their actions came to life!

Again I reread my work and noticed a mark difference, but found the settings seemed scratchy and time skipped like a wrinkle in fabric.

**My teacher suggested I vision each scene like a movie. Could I see, hear, feel, taste, and smell each scene? Did I have transitions teleporting one scene smoothly to the next?

By taking the time to "wash and dry" my new manuscript through an editing process, the characters and I’ve developed a comfortable relationship. I suppose if they were real they'd walk into my living room some evening. We’d sit in front of the fireplace sharing stories and laugh—maybe cry, too. I’d probably have to ask the antagonist to leave soon after he arrived to prevent a disasterous sword fight.

I'm confident these comrades cringed when the rejection notice came. Marcus, the protagonist, would have thrashed the parchment, it I let him. Sometimes, when I listen closely, I hear them whisper words of encouragement. Other times I find notes from them, secretly embedded in other books. Each time I edit or modify my first-born manuscript it radiates warmth—like a comfy flannel shirt. Whether this story is published someday or not, it will always be my favorite.

What is your favorite manuscript? How did this manuscript help you through the first baby steps of your writing journey? Perhaps your words will help another take "one giant leap for mankind".

Study to show yourself approved unto God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15

Next week: The dressy-shirt manuscript.