Hearing Voices

I was making my kids' lunches early this morning when I heard a voice. Rewrite Chapter One, it whispered, reminiscent of that famous line: If you build it, they will come.

What? I asked, cocking my head for better reception.

Rewrite Chapter One, the voice repeated.

Seriously? You've got to be kidding me, I whined. I've already revised my entire book. Like, a lot a lot of times.

Rewrite Chapter One, it commanded. You'll thank me later.

Aw, shit, I said, because I knew the voice was right.

**********

Chapter One of The Seventh Tribe is good, but it's not spectacular. It's not so compelling that it sucks the reader in and makes her need to know what happens next (in my opinion). One of my husband's friends, who works for A Major Publishing Company, has graciously offered to accept my cover letter and the first three chapters of my book and, perhaps, give it to the appropriate person(s). This is a HUGE thing. Instead of submitting my query to an agent's assistant and praying he or she will pass it along to said agent and then said agent will beg to read my manuscript, I'm sidestepping that. Of course, there is absolutely NO guarantee that anything will happen because of this one tenuous connection. The bottom line is, I still have to write a kick-ass story and a kick-ass cover letter to accompany it.

I have in my mind how I will rewrite Chapter One, and that's what I'll be working on this morning (instead of wrapping Christmas presents as I had planned). My goal is not to change the overall content of the chapter, but to present it in a way that is more actionable, fast-paced, and interesting. Oh, yes! I can do it.

Be safe. Take precautions. It can happen to you.

My computer started acting all funky yesterday - shorting out and refusing to properly boot up. So, that's why I'd thought I'd take a few minutes of your time to issue this brief PSA:

It took just one catastrophic hard drive failure for me to realize how much I rely on my computer. That was  quite a few years ago, and I wasn't even writing manuscripts back then! When my husband presented me with a brand new Toshiba laptop nearly three Mother's Days ago, he also gifted me an external hard drive. "Use it," he suggested wisely. "Use it often."

And use it I do. After every chapter I write or revise, I save it to my external hard drive. Just to be on the safe side, I email a copy of my manuscript to my Gmail account, as well as my husband's Gmail and Windows Live accounts. I've been working on The Seventh Tribe since June, and just the thought of losing those months of hard work makes me break out in a cold sweat. The amount of revising I've done in the past two weeks alone would be worthy of a good computer bashing and crying/screaming/flailing-of-limbs jag if I were to lose it.

So.

Be safe. Take precautions. It can happen to you.

Consider yourself warned. Or informed.

Whatever.

That thing called "voice."

When I received the pink binder back from Lauren, one of my trusty readers and informal editors, I noticed several instances in which she had circled a word, phrase, or passage and marked: "voice" in the margin. When Lauren and I got together to talk about my manuscript, she explained that she marked "voice" whenever she felt the text was inconsistent with how Sarah, the 15-year-old protagonist, would talk to the other characters or observe the world around her. In the same vein, there were times when Lauren thought my manuscript sounded too mature for a YA audience. She thought I should (for lack of a better phrase) "dumb it down."

Lauren is not your average reader. I consider her to be hyper-observant and, in a very good way, picky. She pointed out "mistakes" in my manuscript that had me slapping my palm against my forehead and, for the past two weeks, I've been spending every free moment revising. When my other two binders come back to me, I'll revise yet again. When all is said and done, I will have revised my manuscript in detail at least four different times.

I wonder, though, if other readers take voice into consideration when reading a book. Do they understand who is telling the story? It's not the author; rather, it's the characters. The author is just the vehicle for them to do so. Although I don't believe this totally excuses bad writing or a poorly-constructed plot on the author's part, it's the astute reader who can make allowances because of the characters' unique voices.

Sarah's voice in The Seventh Tribe would be completely different if she were 25, instead of 15. However, I'm intentionally writing the story for girls aged 13 to 18. Therefore, if an adult picks up the book, reads it, and then complains that the writing is horrible, I'm going to take that with a grain of salt. The Seventh Tribe was never meant to be enjoyed by adults in the first place. BUT . . . I hope those same adult readers who read my book will have enough consideration for my work not to dismiss it altogether or pan me as an author.

When my husband agreed to read Twilight and New Moon as a primer to The Seventh Tribe, which I consider to be of the paranormal genre, I often had to remind him to try to put himself in the shoes of a teenage girl. "Bella's disgustingly devoted to Edward," he complained. "All she does is talk about how good-looking he is and how she can't live without him." Well, yes. That's the nature of the relationship between a vampire and his human: blind devotion; irrational love; unhealthy addiction. And, um, I can remember being  the same way when I was that age.

*Tangent alert* I was just about to write: "But at least the guys I dated couldn't hurt me." And then I thought, well that's a load of crap. The guys I dated did hurt me - not physically, but emotionally. Every single guy I've ever (seriously) dated broke up with me. Hard to believe, but true. And yeah, I felt like throwing myself down on the forest floor and slipping into a state of semi-consciousness for the rest of my life. Also, I'm sure I appeared catatonic and withdrawn while I got over the pain and humiliation of having been dumped. I wasn't one of those girls who could just buck up and move on. My self-esteem wasn't that good, after all. And such is my love an devotion to my husband of nearly eleven years that I would be absolutely distraught should he all-of-a-sudden tell me that we're no good for each other; see ya later. (as Edward does to Bella in New Moon) I understand Bella's attraction to Edward and her subsequent longing for him when he leaves her. Is it healthy? No. But it's real.

Sarah has a love interest in The Seventh Tribe, although she's not nearly as addicted to him as Bella is of Edward. However, I attribute that to the fact that Adrian is a mere human and not some vampire with uncanny powers of persuasion. Still, I had to assume the role of a 15 year old and try to imagine how Sarah would react to Adrian, what she would say to him, how she'd interpret those unfamiliar, yet powerful, feelings of attraction. And while the writing might sound "cheesy" to some adults and they might misinterpret me as a talentless writer because of it, at least I can have faith that I stayed true to Sarah and her voice.

I might be a horrible kisser.

Last night I had a dream that I kissed this guy from the NBC show, Parks and Recreation. Honestly, I don't find him very attractive (balk and guffaw all you want). It's not that he is unattractive; he's just not my type. Anyway, we were kissing in the hallway of my grandmother's house which, for some reason, was stifling hot.  We were flushed and sweating and settling in the throes of a good, long kiss when he broke away and said, "It's really steamy in here . . . but that kiss is doing nothing for me." I answered breathlessly (and a little moronically), "Yeah . . . . steamy . . . ." when it all-of-a-sudden dawned on me that he was referring to the actual temperature of the house and not the quality of the kiss. I woke up at that point feeling seriously pissed-off that my kiss had had no impact whatsoever on him even though, in truth, his own kiss was horrible. I was just too nice to say as much to his face.

Here's the thing: kisses are highly personal. If you choose to give somebody a kiss, especially if it's more than a little peck on the cheek, you entrust that person with a piece of yourself. You  open yourself to judgment, whether it be about your stinky coffee breath or your proclivity for tongue. (Don't underestimate dental floss and mouthwash, folks. And, as far as tongue is concerned: less is more.) Some people like stinky coffee breath and lots of tongue, I suppose; you just have to find him (or her).

Sending your manuscript, which is also highly personal, into the publishing world is like giving a kiss. The recipient might like what you've written and crave more, or he (or she) might very well tell you it sucks. The right person who will appreciate what you have to offer is out there, though. It's just a matter of searching.

returning to the real world

Something about me you might not know is that I tend to get hyper-focused on my work. Take, for instance, my writing. Let's just say *thank goodness* I am not hosting Thanksgiving at my house this year because A) It's a certified disaster zone, B) I have no desire to cook this year and will be lucky to put together my assigned stuffing dish before tomorrow, C) there's a mound of dirty clothes that need washing before I can pack for our weekend-long excursion to Granny's house.

I am seriously behind, and I've no one to blame but myself. I am on a mission to get The Seventh Tribe published, and I've been sneaking away to my office every chance I get. I have been stealing moments when there are none to be stoled. (Pretend "stoled" is the past participle of "stealing," even though it's actually "stolen." I just like the way "stoled" sounds, even though it has an entirely different meaning.)

I've (re)revised fourteen chapters of my book, and the story is so much better because of it. Also, for reasons I won't discuss just yet, I'm kinda-sorta under a deadline to get these revisions and The Most Awesome Query Letter Ever completed within the next month. I have seven chapters plus an epilogue to revise, though I've no doubt I will complete them in a timely matter.

But in order for me to do what needs to be done in the here and now, I have to step out of my little world of make-believe for the day and actually return to the real world. I have to live my life. I'm giving myself permission to revise one chapter today and start work on Creative Writing Assignment #3 for my course, but only after I've completed all the necessary household and Thanksgiving chores. Oh, and I must remember to not let the kids kill each other.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers!

a little bit of teasing

Here's a tease from Chapter 14 of The Seventh Tribe:

Adrian tried to wrap his hand around mine, but I pulled away, scared beyond any fear I had ever know. "I have to go," I said, my voice catching with pent-up emotion. "I can't be here with you."

"Sarah," he pleaded, his voice raspy. "I promised you."

I looked at his sister, Shyla, one last time and witnessed the conflict tearing her apart. My life was in her hands, and she had no idea what to do with it. If she spared me, she'd be at the mercy of an entire tribe; if she executed their will, she'd be my murderer. And then how could she possibly live with herself?

Calling All (Non-Traditional) Published Authors!

I am a published author. I went the non-traditional route and chose ireadiwrite Publishing, a small digital press, to publish Precipice, but I am a published author, nonetheless. Working with Michelle, creative director for ireadiwrite, was a great experience, and I would recommend her to anyone. *ireadiwrite is not a vanity press or self-publishing site. Your manuscript will have to go through a submission process before it is accepted and published. If you are interested in learning more, click here.* The only reason I am not submitting The Seventh Tribe to ireadiwrite for publication is because it is a digital press. Books are available in digital format only, and I feel strongly that I want that particular story to be available in print, also. 

Although I am impressed with the number of sites on which I've seen Precipice advertised, visibility does little in getting people to actually pick up (or, in my case, download) a book and read it. Imagine walking into your favorite bookstore. If you're like me, chances are you feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of books available and head straight for the tables up front. Even still, I don't usally buy a book just by browsing alone. Rather, I am more likely to purchase and read a book that's received a lot of press (both good and bad) or has been recommended to me (see the list I've started in the sidebar).

It's not enough that you've written a book, and you can't rely on the few people who've read it to promote it for you. You have to do a little promoting yourself, too. And because I recognize how difficult it is for those of us who've chosen the non-traditional route of publication to get the word out about our books, I thought I would do what I can to help, small though that effort might be. 

Here's what I'm going to do:

For January through December of 2010, I am pledging to purchase, read, and review one book each month that has been self-published or published through a small print or digital press. If you qualify and would like for me to consider your book, please send a link to your book, as well as a synopsis, to woolgatherings@gmail.com from now until December 15th. I will choose twelve books to read and announce the "winners" by the end of December. I will include a link and synopsis of ALL books received regardless.

FYI - I am a woman (obviously) in her early thirties. I am a hopeless romantic. I thrive on the paranormal. I'm currently writing for the YA crowd. Therefore, I'm probably going to choose books that appeal to me because of those reasons. However, I won't discount any book.

Good luck!