First Submissions

                Just before writing this blog post, I submitted my entry for a writing contest.

                Then I tweeted this:

"OH MY GOSH, TWITTER, I JUST PRESSED SEND. They HAVE the story. The story I've had around for a YEAR AND A HALF. AHHHHHHHH. #firstsubmissions"

                And this:

"I would like to think such occasions will be much less panicky as time goes on. Sadly, I'm not certain that will be the case. XD"

                And was met with several reassuring/sympathetic/commiserating tweets, along with an imaginary paper bag to breathe into and some imaginary bite-size brownies.

                This is not the first thing I’ve ever submitted, though, guys. It’s one of the biggest contests I’ve entered, sure, and I haven’t submitted much anywhere (yet). But I’ve entered contests, including a few small-scale, local ones in elementary and middle school that I, uh, won/placed in. *blush*

                Just recently, I got back results from a major contest I entered at artandwriting.org. An Honorable Mention in my region. Not great, but not bad, either. And I didn’t freak out as much about that contest.

                I still freaked out, mind you. I just freaked out less.

                Why? I think because my entry for that contest was not the best thing that I’ve written. I knew that, was okay with that, and decided to send it in anyway (partially because winners there would lose the rights for two years, and I wanted to possibly submit some other stories to magazines, etc.). Because I knew it wasn’t my best work, I was thrilled to get an honorable mention.

                It’s different with the story I’m submitting now. It has been around since October 3^rd, 2010. I wrote it late at night (*cough*earlyinthemorning*cough*onaschoolnight*cough*) while listening to the song Airplanes by B.o.B. and Hayley Williams. I loved the thing. And I blogged about it way back then, for heaven’s sake, before this blog was even active.

                To this day, I think it’s one of the better rough drafts I’ve written. It’s changed in small spurts, with just a few major paragraphs altered or deleted after getting feedback from I-forget-how-many people. A few changed wordings. A few lines ironed into something smoother. That’s about it. The core is the same as it always was, and yet there’s a stronger focus now. A stronger character. A stronger story.

                It’s probably the most completely polished thing I have ever written thus far.

                Which is what makes this 1,500-ish word story so terrifying to send out into the world.

                For me, and every other person who’s begun submitting stories, I’m sure there’s more than a few questions floating around. We just need to live with those questions, and try to hold on to the answers.

                What if I lose?

                There will be other contests. Other places to submit. Other stories to polish, that will be better than this one ever was. Maybe they loved the story – they just loved someone else’s even more.

                What if they don’t even like it?

                Then they don’t like it. It’s a matter of opinion, a matter of who the judge is, and even a matter of what stories they’ve already read. It’s no different than when you sent this story out to reviewers, asking for feedback. There was a chance they wouldn’t like it. Your response to a rejection here should be similar to your response to a bad review; Make it better, or move on to something else.

                Most terrifyingly, what if I screwed up the formatting and get disqualified for something dumb? And then DIE?

                You will not die. Probably. I know this part is stressful, especially for people who haven’t submitted much before, but this should not be the most paralyzing part of the experience. Just follow the given directions as closely as you can, and if you’re not sure about something, ask someone. Preferably someone who knows what they’re talking about.

                … What do I do now?

                The answer to this one is simple. You keep writing. Write another story. Work on polishing other projects. Or maybe just write a blog post about the experience. *looks around innocently*

                And now, some questions for you.

                Have you started the submission/querying process? If so, what’s your experience been like? Any tips for the inexperienced submitter, or things about the process that have always tripped you up?

How to Write Neutral Reviews (Contest!)

Details on how to win a review of either a short story or the first chapter of your novel will be found at the end of this post. :)

“You suck,” says your reviewer. “I hate the main character you came up with. This is the worst science fiction novel I’ve ever read. Why were you wasting your time on this?”

            With every word, knives plunge into the story you’ve worked so hard on, and sink through to the offering hands beneath. Your heart doesn’t escape the massacre; you put it into your manuscript, after all.

            You resolve to never let anyone see your writing, ever again. Maybe you resolve to never write again, period.

            The above is an example of what not to do when reviewing a work, especially when it’s the work of an amateur, or someone who’s never received much feedback.

            I’m sure most writers flinched while reading the above example. Maybe you’ve received a similar review in the past, or maybe you’ve received one that’s even worse (Ouch). But if you’d like some specifics on why a review like this is not helpful…

            The Knives:

·         Accusing Words: “You suck.” “You came up with.” “You wasting Your time.” This reviewer failed to put distance between the work and the author, equating you with this one story (Friends or family might do this on the other end of the scale, gushing about the story and giving praise just because their grandchild/child/best friend/etc. wrote it.).

When receiving a review like this, just remember. Your heart may be in this book, but it will grow back, in time for you to put it into your next story, and the one after that. Just because your book sucks (at the moment) does not mean that you suck. Also, the point of feedback is not to fluff your ego. It’s to make your story better.

When reviewing, try to emphasize the fact that this is one opinion. “I didn’t like this because…” “I felt that the character was…” Etc.

·         No Specifics: “I hate your main character.” Why? Was the character flatter than the paper he was printed on? Did they hate his personality, or the choices he made? Or did they just hate the character because he just happened to share a first name with the reviewer’s ex?

When receiving, ask follow-up questions if you have the opportunity. Get the reviewer to elaborate on their answers. If that’s not possible, think about what the problem might’ve been, and perhaps ask future reviewers to make notes on what they liked or didn’t like about that area (characters, dialogue, etc.).

When reviewing, be specific. Say exactly what you disliked about something. How else would you expect the writer to fix things? Also, don’t forget to sat exactly what you like about a project, so the writer knows what they’re doing right.

·         Sweeping Generalizations: “This is the worse science fiction novel I’ve ever read.” There are a lot of science fiction novels out there, folks. There are a lot of novels in any genre. None of us have read all of them. And not all of us can be on par with the greats, especially during the drafting stages. 

When receiving, tell yourself that the reviewer must have simply been very selective/lucky in their book choices up until now. Remind yourself that it’s an opinion. If you reeeeeally have to, think of the worst book you’ve ever read in your genre, and ask yourself, “Am I writing at this level or higher?” If your honest answer is no, then maybe you still have some work to do. But remember. Published books have usually gone through countless revisions, with professional editors, etc. You have some time to reach that level.

When reviewing, try not to exaggerate. Remember that there’s a person on the other side of the screen, and when you say ‘worst ever’, some people will hear and believe that you mean ‘WORST. EVER.’ And considering some of the books out there, ‘worst ever’ is a big statement to throw around.

·         No Encouragement: “Why were you wasting your time on this?” Wasting our time? Imagine someone who’s trained since birth to be the master of their field, growing in leaps and bounds, jumping up and down in excitement with every advancement. They are approaching what they believe is the pinnacle of their successes thus far… And then someone walks by and says, “Why you wasting your time on this junk? Go do something worthwhile with the years you’ve got left, ya’ hobo.” There can be no graver insult. This is the added twist to the knife. Wasting our time?

When receiving, remember the movies where someone has a dream, and when passersby say “You’re wasting your time”, all they do is work harder. They prove the passersby wrong. That is you. And you are not wasting your time. Even if your work-in-progress right now never reaches the heights you’d imagined, it’s practice. It’s a step on the stairs leading you to success. With each thing you write, you get more and more experience. And that is not wasting your time. 

When reviewing, always try to include something positive. Never give the writer the impression that ‘there is no hope.’ Point out an area where they’re strong, or where you can see that they’re almost understanding what it is they can do to get better. Encourage them to keep writing, if not with the current story, then with the next.

            At its core, the what-not-to-do example is an example of feedback, perhaps by an inexperienced reviewer. A reviewer who got eepy “NO, DON’T DO THIS” vibes about a certain something, but didn’t know how to put the problem into words. Were they polite? No. Were they harsh? Kinda, yeah. But at its core, the above example was saying:

            “I do not like your main character. This book might not be ready to compare with already-published books in the genre. I would consider working on a different project.”

            Not perfect, but better. A step in the right direction. And one opinion.

            Keep writing, everybody.

            How would you rewrite the what-not-to-do review? What other things have bothered you in reviews? What’s the harshest review you’ve ever received, and has it helped you improve at all since receiving it?

            Also, a reminder: Comment on this post and you can be entered into a drawing to win a review of either a short story or the first chapter of your novel. If you also comment on the previous post, you’ll receive a second entry in your name. I'll draw for the winner(s?) in one week. Good luck!

The Importance of Hearing Reviews

First, I am not trying to stir up controversy. I’m not on Goodreads. I’m usually the person who hears about drama after the fact. Everything I know about recent events (probably about 2% of what actually happened) came second-hand. I will not name names. I am not trying to add to the drama.

                But I am going to talk about reviews, and their importance, especially for unpublished writers. I allude to the Goodreads drama only because I have a somewhat unique perspective on one part of it.

                I had the opportunity to read and critique a draft of one of the books involved, before anyone knew it was being picked up for publication.

                The writer approached me. At the time, she was unpublished as well, and looking for feedback, from a lot of different people. She was rather polite, and I said okay. I read her novel, and wrote my review as usual. I forget how long it took, but I doubt I finished in one sitting. I sent the review.

                I got a response from the writer, who was not happy. She stated, perhaps a bit testily, that she didn’t agree with certain aspects of my review. I stayed polite, but wrote back to try and further explain my thoughts. I forget the specifics of what was said, but I’m 84% sure that I also said something like, “This was just the impression I got, but if I’m seeing this, chances are good that someone else is going to think the same way.” We sent a few messages back and forth. The writer was calmer, I think, by the end of it. And we eventually reached a point of “Agree to Disagree”. That was the end of it.

                Except it wasn’t, really.

                I give thorough reviews. I usually write down whatever thoughts come to me as I read, in all their witty/sarcastic/‘oh, isn’t this funny!’ glory. I try to find something good in everything I read. So, usually, I’d say my reviews are balanced between good and bad, serious and funny… I try to explain everything I feel about the story. Like I said, I doubt I finished writing my review of her novel in one sitting.

                And the writer’s responses made me feel like she wasn’t going to pay attention to any of it. She didn’t agree with certain parts of my review, so she was going to ignore the whole thing. And even though I sort of shrugged it off, I couldn’t help but remember that writer’s reaction, especially when it would’ve been so easy for her to say, “I don’t agree with everything you said, but thanks for your time, and I’ll keep your concerns in mind.”

                When I heard her book was going to be published, I’ll admit that three things were in my head. A moment of surprise. Some calculations of how much time she’d had to revise since I left my review. And finally a desire to read the book – mostly so I could see if she’d changed it much from the version I read. Mostly so I could see, “Did she listen at all to what I said?”

                I don’t like saying it, but I probably wasn’t as happy for her as I would’ve been, had our initial exchange gone differently.

                And now, when I hear of the drama, and hear a few words about the review in question that make me think it probably pointed out some of the same things my review did, before the book was published…

                It is impossibly hard to hold in an “I told you so.”

                But that’s not what this blog post is. This blog post is for us, the unpublished writers who are sending our works out into the world, squirreling away feedback and trying to polish our manuscripts into something beautiful.

                For me, this has been a reminder to take every review seriously, even if you don’t agree with everything. Whether it’s a three-page monster of a review, chewing up your manuscript and spitting it out in disgust. Whether it’s one line – “I don’t like your characters.” Or whether it’s one little suggestion in the midst of a larger review, where a polite, professional reviewer suggests you change something that’s been the foundation of your story for as long as you can remember.

                We need to hear our reviews.

                That doesn’t mean listening to so many voices that we forget our own. But it does mean keeping in mind, “If one person feels this way, other readers might too.” Especially if more than one review points out the same issues.

                We don’t need to act on every suggestion. We can pick and choose what exactly we change, and how much influence a review has on us. But when we’re still unpublished, this is our time to fix things. It’s our time to see what bothers people, and make our books the best they can be. Our reviewers now represent our future readers, and as such we cannot afford to ignore them.

                We need to remember that everyone has their opinion. We need to be willing to hear those opinions. We can’t block out everything that hurts our feelings. But we can decide how to respond, both now and in the future.

                Next week I’ll have a post about the reviewing side of things – how to keep things neutral, how to be truly helpful, etc.

                And, because the time seems right. I’m holding a contest.

                Leave a comment, on either this post or the one next week, and you’ll be entered to win a review from me, of either a short story or the first chapter of your book. Comment on both posts to get your name entered twice. :)

                In two weeks, I’ll draw for the winner(s?)!

                Keep writing, everybody. ;)

                Do you like the idea of this contest? Are you on Goodreads, and if you are, would you recommend joining? What’s the most helpful review you’ve ever received, and why?

Sparkfest: Ted Dekker Exaltations, Continued.

To my usual readers, if you were looking for my next post in the Character’s Class Schedule series, I’m afraid that won’t be coming for another few days. Consider this recess, as I answer a couple of questions. It’s all a part of the Spark Blogfest, which you can find here.

“What book made you realize you were doomed to be a writer?

What author set off that spark of inspiration for your current Work in Progress?

Or, Is there a book or author that changed your world view?”

                I am seventeen. I started writing when I was… eight? Something like that. When you consider my life in terms of percentages, I have been writing a very long time. As a writer, I assume that you can assume I read quite a bit, which is what makes answering questions like these so difficult. Lots of books and authors scramble up to the front of my mind.

                The Magic Tree House series must’ve been among my first influences; my first ‘books’ totally ripped it off, after all. Then there was Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia, introduced by my mother’s voice at bedtime even as the books themselves introduced me to fantasy. When I was older, Tamora Pierce and Scott Westerfeld taught me about creating worlds real enough to step into in my dreams.

                But if there’s one author who I know, without a doubt, has influenced my life as a writer, it would have to be Ted Dekker. Changed my world view? Yup. Set off sparks of inspiration? On more than one occasion, yes. Made me realize I was doomed to be a writer? Indubitably.

                I’m not sure how old I was when I read the Circle trilogy series (there are four books, now). And I’m not sure how old I was when I read one of his other books and first started to piece things together…

                But the first time I noticed the connections between characters, and plot points, and seemingly random lines in the narrative, I’m pretty sure my reaction was something like this:

                O.O He can DO that?!

                Yes, boys and girls. He can do that.

                Ted Dekker has a very interesting style – one that I think you either love or you hate – but I have yet to find an author that can weave together plots, characters, and worlds as masterfully as he can. It goes beyond incorporating something from the first page into the final climax. It involves incorporating information from the first page of a book in another series and twisting things together so subtly that you’d have to read all his books in one sitting to catch all the connections. Even then you might miss something.

                I’d never seen a writer do that before, and I haven’t seen a writer do it like that since. Ted is one of the few writers that can still surprise me at every turn, and make me jump up and down squealing every time I catch something new.

                To give you a sense of what I’m talking about, allow me to tell you the names of three of his villains. Marsuvees Black, from one of his trilogies, Sterling Red from a stand-alone book, and Barsidious White from another stand-alone book that he co-wrote with another author.

                And what were the titles of the books in the original Circle trilogy?

                Black. Red. And White.

                Are you beginning to see what I’m talking about here?

                I think Ted Dekker’s writing, and his masterful way of interconnecting things, is part of what made me develop into the extensive schemer I am today. I may not outline, but within two weeks of starting a novel I have the general plans for a four book series, right down to scraps of dialogue and future scenes. I’ve had people say that my style of writing reminds them of Ted’s, even before they knew I was a fan. In the middle of writing my own books, I’ve made plot connections that give me those same jumping-up-and-down feelings that I get when I read a good Dekker book.

                Ted Dekker set off the sparks that turned me into a schemer.  And since 84% of my writing process involves scheming… Well. I feel like I owe him a lot for opening my mind up to the possibilities of intertwining things. ^^

                Plus, the man can write a great serial killer story. :)

                P.S. To my usual readers, you probably already knew how I felt about Ted after this post. XD

Winners! -- 2011 Blog Birthday Contest

Thank you to the five entrants. ^^ That's the highest number of comments I've received on one post, to be honest, and it feels good to know someone's reading. ;)

The winner is...

Tanya!

And, really, who could deserve it more? My first consistent commenter, always supportive, enthusiastic, and friendly. Congratulations. ^^

I also drew for second place. The prize is exactly the same as the prize for first place. XD

McMourning!

Come on down! ^^

Tanya (borntobeawriter), and McMourning, I'll be contacting you on Young Writers Society as well as here, so you'll be able to comment either here or there and tell me what you'd like your prize to be.

Again, your options are...

· A Review of a short story

· A Review of the first chapter of a novel

· A Thank You Sketch of some sort

· A Sketch Attempt at drawing one of your characters (A description will need to be provided for this, and I make no promises that you’ll like it, but I’ll do my best. XD

 

To the rest of you, thanks for participating. ^^ And Twit? Thanks for posting that section from LotR. I was hoping someone would. XD

 

Congratulations again to the winners! Keep writin'. ;)

Stay in Character: How to Keep Your Characters' Reactions Believable

              “If your Big Twist involves the happy little neighbor girl revealing her identity as the chainsaw-toting serial killer, then you’d better have planted some of those hints alluding to the darker side of her character. There’s nothing more frustrating than having a character do something so outrageously not them that you start to question if the author knows their character as well as you do.”

                Those were my thoughts in the last tip regarding The Twist in an earlier post. As I wrote it, I started to think maybe that needed some elaboration.

                It might sound simple at first. There are certain actions that would not be believable coming from a certain character. A sickly boy scared to leave his house might not be the right person to lead a rebellion against a cruel and vicious tyrant. Likewise, a cruel and vicious tyrant probably wouldn’t call off an invasion the moment a hero points out an orphanage full of innocent children sitting right in the war machine’s path.

                But there’s a difference between unbelievable actions and actions that point to character development.

                The key is to take an unbelievable action and make it believable, through the use of backstory, a character’s thought processes, and outside influences that give your character no choice but to act the way they do.

                Backstory: Let’s go back to our cruel and vicious tyrant. He’s a monster. Murderer of thousands, eats fluffy puppies for breakfast without a second thought, he is One Bad Dude. Obviously, he’s not going to lose much sleep over a hut full of lice-ridden orphans.

                But – to use one of the clichéd examples that are quickly becoming commonplace in these posts, for simplicity’s sake – what if our tyrant was an orphan himself? What if the kindly old owner of an orphanage he grew up in was the only person who ever showed him any kindness, and their murder was the tragic event that put him onto the path of violence in the first place?

                What if the orphanage in the path of his war machine was the same orphanage he once grew up in? The last remainder of all his deceased caretaker’s hard work over the years…

                Suddenly a desire to spare that little hut isn’t so unlikely now, is it?

                Certain events in the past shape the character of our characters (XD). I used Darth Vader as an example in the last post, so I’ll continue with that now. Think about what made him who he was. His mother killed, his occupation telling him that he can’t be with his wife, his whole world falling apart… It took a lot to bring him from a sweet little boy into a man in a black mask.

                But knowing what we know about his history, and the events that have shaped him, it’s not so hard to believe that he could change his ways at the last moment and sacrifice himself to save Luke.

                What makes it more believable? Backstory!

                Thought Processes: Logic can be a funny thing. What makes sense to one person might seem outrageous to another. This, my friends, is what allows stupid people to do stupid things. It makes sense to them, after all. Differences in the way people think is also what leads to comedy – unexpected outcomes.

                Take two drastically different characters, and put them in front of a stack of boxes. At the top is the Prize. The trophy. The thing they want most in all the world. One character will get all excited and gather up everything they can find, building their own teetering tower of possessions to try and reach their greatest desire…

                The other will tip over the whole stack and pick the prize up off the ground.

                One character thinks ‘Fight’. The other thinks ‘Flight.’ One character thinks optimistically, with confidence of success in everything they do. The other thinks pessimistically, and always takes the cautious path.

                With every choice put in front of your character, think about the way they think. If they’re outnumbered and outmatched, will they fight anyway, or surrender and plot for a later escape? Would they rather do things the easy way or the hard way? The simple way, or the complicated way? The efficient way, or the fun way?

                As a bonus, knowing how your character will react in a given situation will help you to get to know them in all other ways that help you make your characters deep, and believable, and real to a reader.

                Outside Influences: Sometimes unlikely people are put in unlikely situations… Mostly for the sake of comedy. A genetically modified superspy is forced to attend normal high school, or a sniveling little scaredy-cat is forced to save the world.

                What do both of these examples have in common? The word forced.

                Take away all your character’s options. Either they act, or they die. Period.

                Let’s bring back that sickly boy, who’s scared to step outside his front door. In his mind, war has nothing to do with him. He’d rather sit inside and fold his socks than go face our evil tyrant, and the thought of a wielding a weapon is enough to make him break out in hives.

                But if he lives in the orphanage that’s about to be crushed under the tyrant’s war machine… Well then, that changes things. His socks are in danger! Along with all the younger kids, and the people who’ve cared for him his whole life. And maybe his bold, adrenaline-junkie girlfriend, who’s taking up a weapon before they’ve even established the risks.

                If he wants to keep his girlfriend safe, or if he wants to keep her from going in the first place, then he’ll have to go, won’t he?

                Did Frodo have any choice besides bringing the ring to Mordor? Did Harry Potter have any choice but to fight against Voldemort and step into the role everyone expected him to take? Did Marlin have any choice but to leave his safe little home and go after his son Nemo?

                Eliminate all choices but two. Action, and the Unthinkable.

                In the words of Sherlock Holmes, “When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

                Eliminate the Unthinkable, and whatever remains, however improbable, is the action your character must take.

                Know your characters. Know what they will do, and what they won’t do. Figure out what’s necessary to make them do something. Keep their actions believable, and you’ll save your readers a whole lot of frustration.

                What’s the most unbelievable thing one of your characters has ever done? Now what made them willing to do it?

                If you don’t have an answer, maybe it’s time to find one.

(Also, a reminder! The 8th was the first anniversary of the beginning of this blog, and in honor of that, I'm running a contest where if you comment on this post, you could win your choice of either a review for some of your writing or a sketch. More details in the aforementioned post. I was going to have it be a drawing... But honestly I'm thinking about giving everyone who comments either a review or a sketch, since the grand total so far is... Well... Two. XD We shall see. Thanks for reading!)

Happy Birthday, Blog! (Contest/Prizes!)

Well, ladies and gents. It’s been a year since the Introduction. I was still calling myself ‘The Writer’ *facepalm* and had very little clue of what I wanted to do with this blog. The url was www.problogueblog.blogspot.com *headdesk*

                I’d never had a blog before, but I liked the idea…

                And now, a year later, I’ve been keeping up with weekly updates for a couple months now (has it been months? XD). I’ve changed the url to something that doesn’t have ‘blog’ in it three times. I’ve figured out that I want this blog to be for all writers as they live out the prologue of their own career, instead of just me. Hopefully the posts have been more helpful recently, and someone is getting something out of this blog. ;)

                I currently have nine lovely followers, and recently one’s been commenting! (Shoutout to you, Tanya. ;))

                Okay. It’s still a baby blog at this point. XD

                But I’d like to do something to thank everyone who’s been keeping up with me, whether they’ve been around from the start or just stumbled onto it recently.

                So, it’s giveaway time!

                Unfortunately, I’m poor and have zero connections. But I’m not a bad critic, if I do say so myself, (plus, feedback is always a good thing) and I dabble in doodling and artsy things like that…

                So, everyone who comments on this post will be entered in a lottery, and depending how many entries I get, the first/second name(s) I draw will have their choice of the following:

·         A Review of a short story

·         A Review of the first chapter of a novel

·         A Thank You Sketch of some sort

·         A Sketch Attempt at drawing one of your characters (A description will need to be provided for this, and I make no promises that you’ll like it, but I’ll do my best. XD)

I'm not sure it will work to link to reviews I've done on Young Writers Society, but I can link you to my sparsely-updated DeviantArt account, so you can see approximately what level my artwork is at. XD Don't forget to click my 'Scrapbook'. There are a couple of things there, too... Yeah. I haven't updated my DeviantArt account much. XD

Sound good? Hope so, cause I’m kind of excited about it, myself. ;)

Methinks I’ll leave this post open to comments for a week, and then I’ll close it and draw the winner(s) names.

As for what needs to be in the comment… Whatever you want! Thanks, Critiques, suggestions as to how I can make this blog better in the coming year, your favorite post or a reason that this blog has ruined your life… XD I don’t care what it is. You could copy/paste a selection from Lord of the Rings, and it would still get you entered in the drawing.

Looking forward to see how this contest works. ^^

Good luck! :)

Impending Script Frenzy, Story Revision, and So On...

[obligatory‘It’sbeentolongsinceIlastposted’section] I suck. [/obligatory‘It’sbeentolongsinceIlastposted’section]
Moving on.

Revision on my novel has…slowed. Not stopped, mind you, but it has slowed. I blame manga and anime. Somehow I convinced myself that the crisis in Japan meant I should honor them by reading/watching their lovely (addictive) comics. And… Yeah.

Time I’ve spent revising has dwindled.

I start Script Frenzy (www.scriptfrenzy.org) in April. Brought to us by the lovely people who put on National Novel Writing Month every year, the goal is to write a 100-page script in thirty days. Taking formatting and everything into account, that doesn’t seem like a whole lot. Supposedly a page is equal to a minute of screen time. It doesn’t seem like a whole lot. I think I can do it. I’ve always been able to visualize my stories really well, so… writing a movie? No prob! I’ve got my idea, I’ve downloaded CeltX scriptwriting software…

I’d like to say I’ll be able to write my script and continue to revise my novel at the same time. But this is something new for me, so I really don’t know.

Plus, April looks like it’s going to be extremely busy. I take the ACTs in a little over two weeks, and prom is the weekend after that. Yes, I’m going to prom. By myself. Possibly with my sister and friends. And I’ve got all of this stuff going on that might interfere with my care-fully laid out half-baked plans.

Even when I’m actively revising, it’s a little depressing. Those ‘big changes’ I had in mind for the rewrite? So far, not so big. I feel like it’s no better this time around. I’m not changing things so drastically, which could mean that either A) the first part of my rough draft is better than I’d thought while reading through it, or B) I’m as bad at revision as I am at posting blog updates regularly.

It’s a little discouraging. I have so much I want to write. Old ideas, new ideas… But I want to get something ready to try and publish, ASAP. A girl in my class is self-publishing a book of poems and had one poem published in a legit magazine. My mom’s started looking around briefly for potential agents to send query letters to regarding a childrens’ book she wrote a few years ago.

She’s discouraged because it’s hard to know where to start.

I’m discouraged because I’m not even ready to start.

The thing about novels is that they take time. I can write something in a month, but there’s no guarantee it’ll be decent. In fact, it’s pretty much guaranteed to suck. And then you have to read through hundreds of pages, over and over again, before rewriting them and rereading those hundreds of pages, dozens of times.

After I get one book ready to go, there’s still no guarantee that it will be the book that gets published.

Should I be working on this book, or is it a waste of time?

Should I be working on a different novel instead?

Or should I seriously be studying for the ACTs?

*sigh* For now, all I can do is keep writing (and rewriting, and revising).

But while I’m doing that, I’d also love to be entering writing contests, winning cash and books for doing what I love, maybe getting published in a magazine or something if I’m lucky.

I haven’t been lucky, looking online for places to enter. If anyone knows of some legit, free-to-enter contests open to US teenagers, could you shoot me a link?

For now, I think I might try my hand at writing some Keys for Kids devotional things. I mean, twenty-five bucks to write things I’ve been hearing once a day for my entire life?! Win!



Anybody else doing Script Frenzy? Anyone know of some good writing contests/opportunities?



- Silent Pages