Word Bubbles

Shaking out dusty words and seeing where they land.

[blambert-wordbubbles-blog]

What To Do

The deadline for a response from either of the agents have come and gone. I have not done my due diligence to have another agent researched and in queue to submit my story. This leaves me disheartened. I do really well with constructive criticism, but no response at all just leaves me guessing on what may need to me changed. I have an idea on how to tighten up the story, but I haven't changed it yet as I like how those points help drive the action. I also wonder how much my insistence on having the illustrations completed by my husband is preventing this from moving forward. But my conviction on that point is solid as I want to dedicate this story to my daughter from both her mom AND her dad. Or maybe it's as simple as reworking the query letter.

But who know what I need to work on as the publishing standard is silence.

So it makes me wonder, should I publish this first story through a self-publisher due to these self-imposed restrictions and convictions? I have another story I would like to write, but I have less personal convictions on how it should be handled. Is the only reason I want to go through a publisher for the recognition? I want this story published to I can hand it to my daughter, not for my self-importance.

Publishing through a house could help with my chance of landing a corporate communications position, but I've already started aligning my career from a professional standpoint. This story is truly personal. And I think my husband could still benefit professionally if I decide to self-publish as I could contract him for the illustrations. It could still be a freelance job from his perspective.

Or is my willingness to consider self-publishing just a premature form or accepting defeat?

[blambert-wordbubbles-blog]

Crafting Hiatus

I took a stay on writing in order to do some volunteer work knitting for homeless veterans, but 3 hats, 2 pairs of mittens, and a scarf later I am re-focusing again. I still have 3 personal crafting projects in queue (a princess crown and 2 dolls for my daughter), but I need to rank my own writing interests higher on a priority scale. One of my biggest problems is I have too many hobbies and I'm so intensely curious that I'm always adding more (for instance I am now attempting to learn ASL in my "spare" time). My hobbies and interests tend to work their way in cycles - I may not work on a particular craft for years, but eventually I'll pick it back up and hone it for a long while before I rotate again. Writing seems to have fallen in this similar pattern, but unlike all the rest of my crafts that can be done in short bursts at a time, writing requires a larger block of time with a more concentrated effort - the time and attention required is a rare commodity with my current lifestyle and obligations. Writing on the bus is well-suited for the stream-of-conscious blog writing, but not the soul-searching novel writing I'm yearning for. Though I may still be able to squeeze out 2 hours a day if I'm lucky and my daughter keeps her current sleeping routine.

As for the two queries I've submitted so far, I've yet to get an interest. It's only been about 6 weeks for one and 2 weeks for the other, but it's still a little disheartening. I need to research yet another agent to consider submitting to within the next 4 weeks. I'm also considering re-looking at the first couple of stanzas on my picture book story. The first few stanzas don't "grab" me like I would wish, but they set the rest of the story up nicely. i've even considered re-translating the story back into prose, but I'm not ready to give up on the lyrical version. I just may want to start working on the prose version to see how it feels.

[blambert-wordbubbles-blog]

Constantly Looking Forward

It's been almost one month since I submitted my first query out to an agent. So last night I submitted query #2 out. This agency specifically states that no word by 6-8 weeks is considered a "no, thank you." So, I'm thinking that if I try and reach out to a new agent every 4-6 weeks then I'll always have an active query. I'm tracking all my submissions through excel on Google documents and including:

- Name of agent - Contact info for agent - Agency name and website - Submission requirements - Date I submitted manuscript for consideration -The contact info I provided to the agent

This way I can track when a submission has gone stale or who I would need to cancel consideration from if I get any interest.

One update I was able to make on my query letter was my promotional title change from Business Analyst to Communications Consultant effective today. As stated in a previous post, one frustration on justifying my capability as a writer was the lack of published credentials. A job in communications can act as credentials as it is paid work to write, edit, and present to s a specified audience. I'm really excited to start this new role this morning as it helps align my personal and professional goals. What's most interested about this promotion is that I convinced my department that they needed to create this role for me. My department did not have any such role, but being the analyst I was, I dug around and identified need for it, justifying my case with a report, team goals in accordance to the company objectives, and existing opportunities. I had also already proven my communication skills through email correspondence and a writing project our team is coordinating.

When I was in college my mother stated it was better for me to study English than a specific facet of the subject as English opens up more doors and states you can write about anything as opposed to only a specific subject. I have effectively convinced the coding department in the healthcare industry that they needed a writer. This tells me that if I am determined enough I really can make my goals work for me instead of only limiting myself to what's available.

[aaronmarquis-deactivated2017110]

Second grade, Mrs. McCoy’s classroom. I doubt you remember this, but I do. We went around the room and we all said what we wanted to be when we grew up.

[blambert-wordbubbles-blog]

Ironic Communication Delimma

When writing my query bio I had considerable difficulty determining what credentials justified me as a writer. My BA in English isn't impressive enough for the publishing industry and my business-oriented resume history isn't relevant for writing. Though I have made it a point to utilize my writing to enhance business communications, those projects have been small and easily dismissed from a publishing justification vantage-point. Research for query bios suggested not to mention work history unless some part of your job is based on writing. My solution - I've posted for several communications positions at my current employer. I realized that if writing is something I truly want to do then I need to immerse myself in it. The irony of the situation? I would have a much easier time getting a position in communications if I was a published author.

Ah, the rub of life.

[blambert-wordbubbles-blog]

Plot Holes

Getting stuck on the outline due to plot holes. Writing out lists of questions to help tie up those holes before I continue on. The first part of the story seems very easy for me, but the rest is such a mystery. The questions I'm asking of the story are incredibly intriguing and are really making me want to read this. Only issue is I don't have the answers for them yet.

[blambert-wordbubbles-blog]

How to write a novel

So while I'm waiting to hear back from the agent on my picture book, I'm preparing to write a story for middle grade readers. The process is infinitely different. The picture book was told as an oral story and translated to lyrical stanzas to help me remember it. This is going to be a much longer prose piece.

But as I'm trying to figure out how to tackle this the researh for "how to start/write a novel" is incredibly unhelpful. I understand the basic priniciples of "write, write, write," "write what you know/feel,"and so on. But no advice seems to go into the specifics on how to organize your thoughts. "Just write" seems too haphazard and likely to produce weal plot and characters; fleshing out character analysis seems potentially wasteful for a first step as I'm not entirely sure who I need and why. I've decided to do a multi-step approach:

Hash out a large development plot line

Revisit the plot line and dig deeper into the subplots (determining how to get from bullet A to bullet B and what happens between them). This is where details from research will start to really come in.

Then do a character analysis to build up the characters that fit the story.

Tweak the plot/subplot as necessary, possibly building a third tier to flesh out the story a little more.

Once I have these pieces I believe the story will come much easier.

After the overall story is written I think 2-3 more passes (minimal) will put me in a better spot.

What's driving me to write this story is a quote from Toni Morrison stating "If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”

[blambert-wordbubbles-blog]

What I'm Reading

Had to abandon "Here Be Monsters" (Alan Snow). Even though the book has very specific fantasy elements in it, I felt that it was holding my hand through each action and not really letting me imagine much of the story. I really did want to like it as Liaka is releasing "Boxtrolls" which is based on this book, later this year. Maybe it's based on the series, because I didn't see some of the relationships they were highlighting in the trailers. The idea seems neat, but I just can't get into it. I gave it an honest effort (quitting at Chapter 22 which I think is about 1/2 way in).

I've now started "Wildwood" (Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis) and I'm already happier. The book seems very well written and even the illustrations are charming. There are neat regional colloquialisms too - which I love "collecting." So far the premise of the book is that Prue's little brother was abducted by a murder of crows and taken into the Impassible Wilderness where she must go search for him. So far it's really fun!

[writersrelief-deactivated202404]

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Sometime People Make Me Sad

Not specifically about writing, but of human emotions and empathy, which (to me at least) are very closely related.

My work is located about 30 miles from town. The companies around center on "health and well-being" so there's actually a fairly nice walking trail, huge pond and fountain, and lots of open land. Which is, apparently, ideal for Canada Geese nesting grounds. Every year they claim the parking islands and make nests out of mulch. The "defending of their nests" always marks the onset of spring and is great entertainment during breaks.

But people don't like that they swoop down or start chasing / fighting with cars. Building management suggests to move your car if a good starts attacking their reflection in your vehicle, but apparently last week they attacked the wrong car.

We found out on Monday that they've hired a vendor to spray some sort of deterring chemical on the islands. But the geese have already made their nests and laid eggs.

Today was incredibly depressing though as some schmuck actually kicked the nest and effectively killed the eggs in there (2-3). Besides being illegal (as the birds are federally protected in nesting season) this is just painfully, morally wrong. There was an incredible amount of discussion about this once the building was alerted that this had occurred, but it floors me that even though people agree that it was wrong to destroy the nest - people still complained about scratches on their cars or how alarming it is to dodge a goose. These are what my husband calls "first world problems" and actually makes you thankful that these are the worst problems you're facing.

[blambert-wordbubbles-blog]

"Are we there yet?"

It's only been 3 days that the agent could've seen my query, but each time I go to my empty email box I end up refreshing it with OCD compulsion.

"What about now?" pause.

"What about now?" pause.

"What about now?" pause.

Rinse and repeat until I've been sucked into the internet and wasted so much precious time. I'm going to (try and) be patient until the end of April. In the meanwhile I will be researching a new agent. If I don't get word from this one I plan on submitting a new query on May 1. That'll give me time to redraft a query with a new agent in mind.

In the meantime I've scratched all previous writing for my next project. Leaving me just the rough character sketches and basic plot structure. I drafted out a prologue, which sounds promising, and started on chapter 1. So far this feels better than the first draft, but I can tell I'll have many revisions in my future as it still doesn't feel quite right.

With all sorts of digital options, my favorite way to write is pen to paper. I don't typically translate it to the computer until there is an obscene amount of scratches, arrows, and rewrites. I feel more connected to the work when I write it out and I think I'm more likely to make major revisions when I literally have to scratch them out. I think writing digitally looks too clean and professional, even when the writing is far from it.

I think I successfully navigate digital environments, but I still like to kick it old school and just keep a small notebook in my purse.

[blambert-wordbubbles-blog]

The Worst Ways to Begin Your Novel: Advice from Literary Agents - The Write Life

Implement this advice from literary agents and avoid being relegated to the slush pile.

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Writer’s Relief has scoured the Internet to compile a list of the most prestigious prizes and awards for writing that you can earn by entering the nation’s—and the world’s—top writing competitions.

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"Thank You"

I just submitted my query for an agent to review! That "Thank You" page has never looked so lovely or frightening before. I won't hear back unless she's interested, so I'll need to prepare to rinse and repeat this cycle... but my inquiry has been submitted! I've officially started the cycle!

[blambert-wordbubbles-blog]

Holly Lisle: Official Author Homepage - read with hunger, write with joy, live with passion