Tuesday, September 09, 2008

What's up with Me

"Write what you care about and understand. Writers should never try to outguess the marketplace in search of a salable idea; the simple truth is that all good books will eventually find a publisher if the writer tries hard enough, and a central secret to writing a good book is to write one that people like you will enjoy." -- Richard North Patterson

I got a Google Alert in my inbox yesterday ... Kimber Chin said nice things about "Don't Fence Me In" in her comments on a post at Romancing the Blog. It was a pleasant and unexpected surprise. Thanks, Kimber!

Yesterday was my "writing day" according to my new schedule. I worked on characters sheets for a new novel, specifically aimed at Harlequin American and well as a Pre-Plotting exercise I'd made up some time ago that helps me understand the "why" behind my H/H's motivation AND helps me brainstorm possible scenes. One of my favorite questions on it is:

What is one thing your heroine would never say? Do? Think? Now... Find places where she can say, do and think those things and list them here.

This novel may end up being my novel for NaNoWriMo this year. I should be ready to really hunker down and write the thing by November which -- frighteningly -- isn't THAT far away. I find myself returning to the idea of HQA because I love the fact that they encourage lots of strong, quirky secondary characters. That's the kind of book I enjoy writing AND reading.

I also spent some time with "Stiller Creek". A week or so ago, I'd mentioned that I wanted to submit this to HQA, but after a thorough read-through, it's clear that it simply won't work without a massive overhaul that would seriously affect the storyline. I have some violence and language which is unacceptable to HQA, but I'm not willing to change, not to mention the fact that the book opens at a murder scene.

So... I emailed my Samhain editor to see if she'd like a look, and she said yes. Today, in between LASR work (that's what's on my schedule today) I hope to get working on the synopsis and query.

And so are the days of my life.

:-)

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11 comments:

Judy said...

great.. now I have that theme song running through my head....ear worm revenge? :-)

Keri Mikulski said...

Wow, it sounds like you were able to get a lot done. :) Good stuff.

Ceri Hebert said...

You are inspiring! I don't know how you keep up.

I've been thinking NaNo too. Less than 2 months away!!

Melissa McClone said...

Good luck with the synopsis and query!

I already know what book I want to write for Nano. I used the 15 beat sheet from Save The Cat to plot it out so I'm good to go. I just need to get this current one finished by Nov. 1 so I can do it!

Anonymous said...

Have a great writing day. And, good for you, being smart enough to realize that the book fits better at a different publisher.

Diane Craver said...

I'm excited you submitted something new to Samhain and have something else in mind for HQA.

Dru said...

Good luck with your submissions.

Brandy said...

Wow, you have alot going on. Good luck!

I hope you have a nice day!

Marianne Arkins said...

Woo hoo! Ceri and Melissa... getting ready for NaNo. It'll be good.

:-)

Thanks, Devon. My discernment made me a little sad, however.

Thanks, Dru, Keri and Brandy! Today was pretty okay. I got a lot done that I needed to.

And, HA Judy. An earworm just for you. *G*

Jen said...

Sounds like a great work day, Marianne!

Kimber Chin said...

You know why I said nice things about Don't Fence Me In?

Because it ROCKED!
I LOVED it.
Highly reco it to anyone and everyone.