Catching Idle Butterflies

Yawn

The problem with taking four days off from blogging is it seems like I forgot how, kinda like forgetting how to ride a bike. Getting back on this seat daunts me a little.

But like with riding a bike, I get on and see how well – or bad – I do.

I don’t have much to say, so you may yawn your way through this entry (I just noticed. There's a lot of 'y's in that sentence).

Did I get some writing done, though! In my last entry I had rewritten 17 pages. I’m now up to 65 or 16K-and-change words.

Writing in Mark's suggestions didn’t change the story as much as I feared. However, it did add an extra 12 pages or about 3600 words. Hmm. Looking at it that way, it’s not so bad. I was concerned that was too much since my last draft was just under 100k, and the 12 extra pages put me way over. While I’ll end up with more than 100k, it won’t be significant enough to try to cut it back down. Most publishers won’t take any manuscript over 100k, but I’m sure an extra 3500 won’t cause them to balk at it.

I also emailed Mark telling him I took his advice (or at least as much as I could. More on that in a minute), and will be ready to send him as many chapters as he would like – at least up to Chapter 8. What’s funny is I keep reading ahead when my fingers or eyeballs need a break from my computer. How is it my own story can swallow me up when I know everything that happens? Is it weird, and perhaps a little self-absorbed to enjoy reading my own words? I haven’t even been editing when I read ahead unless something pops out at me, but reading for the pleasure of it. Again, is that weird? Go ahead be honest!

I wrote this next part a few days ago, and added it to myspace blog, but I want to add it here as well. It pertains to what I mentioned above about taking Mark’s advice:

Trust Me

The problem with showing people only the first three to five chapters of a novel, is they ask for things I simply can't give them. For instance they have questions and want answers, or things happen too easily.

Comments like these at times need to be ignored. To give too much away at the beginning leaves no mystery or excitement, and therefore the reader loses interest. What moves a reader along isn't the action per se, but the search for those answers.

Some things, even if they appear "too easy" must happen that way or the rest of the story won't make sense. If the character doesn't make a particular decision at the beginning, she then takes a different turn, and my story falls apart. It may seem easy at first, her decision, but the consequences could be so dire, she must either move ahead anyway or try to rectify her mistake. That adds to the excitement, and again, spurs the reader forward.

I therefore must ask the reader to trust me. All their questions and concerns will be addressed in time.

What brought this up? I mentioned in my previous entry about what my critique group informed me. I also have been thinking about the agent's suggestions I spoke to in February. In rewriting my novel I discovered some things simply can't be changed. I've tried to complicate some things, and succeeded in some ways, but the "too easy" decision by my character still must be made at that time.

We're talking less than a 10th into a book here - over 100,000 words. It's not a short story where the reader needs to be satisfied within 3,000-5,000 words.

I admit to a bit of frustration in trying to address these concerns, until the words "trust me" filled my brain. No one takes apart a book like a writer. A reader may not be so discerning. That's no insult to the reader, but being perfect is not what the reader is looking for. They want the story to make sense, the characters to be true, and for the writer to titillate their emotions and mind. Everything else is mere detail.

It's not the reader I ask to trust me, but my fellow writers. Readers read for pleasure, not to take what they read apart piece by minuscule piece.

Easter was the epitome of dull, but lucky you I’m gonna share it! My parents left for Colorado last weekend to pack more stuff to bring up, and Dave had to work. With the temperatures barely getting above freezing for the last week, spending quality time out of doors was not an option. That left me stuck inside with my ‘puter, and not only to write with.

For the last few months, I’ve been having problems that have progressively worsened. Some programs didn’t work right, some flat out refused to load, and the ones that used to work got quirky. Loading and unloading software didn’t work, and even a system restore yielded nothing but a waste of an hour.

That left me with one option – format and reload. Now doesn’t that sound like the perfect way to spend an Easter Sunday to you?! I was a smart little girl and had backed up my hard drive last week. I only needed to copy three files into my yahoo briefcase – one being my novel. I had run out of CDs to copy my files on, and the briefcase is uber handy, especially since I write at work as well as at home. I don’t have to worry about transferring my files onto a CD or flash drive and forget it or pffft on me when I least expect it.

Four hours later am I a happy camper (okay, make that a happy geek)! Not only do I have all my software reloaded, but my computer is humming along peachily! No more quirkiness, and many of my programs are working much faster. Whatever it was, the format and reload is exactly what I needed to do.

I spent the rest of my day writing, so all in all, a Happy Easter. Dave even came home a half-an-hour earlier than normal as he needed to eat up some overtime. Like most major corporations, Home Depot frowns on overtime.

I’m a little sad, though. The creator of B.C, my favorite comic strip died on Saturday. You can read the article here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070409/ap_on_en_ot/obit_hart_17

I’d ask you what you did for Easter, but I’ll be perusing your blogs in the next few days to find out. See ya ‘round Blogville, and if not, I’m sorry I missed you.

Question: Why do people only review my items when I'm not around?