Write A Novel Like an Oreo

I have figured out that around page 200 or so in a manuscript, is where my writing can get a little...un-spectacular. Not that I usually write spectacularly, but I like to have a strong beginning, and a strong end. Therefore, sometimes, the "middle" suffers.

I need to write a novel like an Oreo. Strong, yummy front and back, and the BEST part in the middle! I need to make the middle somewhat...scrumptious.

A challenge! And now, I feel the sudden need to go have some oreos and milk...

Vroom Vroom

All revved up, and what is happening???

Ppphhhhbbbtttttt. As in, ZERO. Maybe because I wrote 5500K on the wip last week, and it took a lot out of me? Now I am doing zilch.

Bad Lara! BAD!!!

I swear, it happens every time I set a deadline. Why is that?

Loathing.

I think sometimes one can hit a point, usually during or after massive edits, where it is possible for one to LOATHE their own book.

It is currently happening to me. I am SO SICK of my EMMA story right now. I've finished my third-to-first person edits. I've added 6K words. I've cut about 3K. I've reworked the first five pages about 7959375 times. Because, you know, agents rarely read past the first five pages. Heck, I've heard, recently, that most agents don't read past the first two pages. Unless you hook them, reel them in, and make them happy they continued reading.

Yeah, that's a lot of pressure. The first two pages have to be perfect. Well, the first TEN, because that's usually what they ask for in a query.

I hate my story. I want to never look at it again, for like, months, but since NaNo is coming up, if I don't get it out there before December, it will sit in the growing slush piles with all the NaNo projects. And then the Holidays will happen. And then the New Year, and then, nothing will happen in the month of January, and it will be February before things start rolling again.

Unless I have a KILLER first two pages. Which I'm currently SICK of.

Pphhhhhbbbhhhttttt.

On a Roll...

My current WIP is 49K, now that I've edited/chopped it. Now I need to add 10-15K back in, but it has to be a new storyline I'm incorporating. Tricky.

I've got the outline, and I've done the research, now it's a matter of interjecting these three chapters into the middle of the story, and making it seamless.

Fingers crossed! If it works, it will be great! Well, at least *I* think it will be. After that, it will be for my beta readers to decide.

But at least I'm writing! I'm being proactive! Go me!!!

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night...

I am trying to figure out which weather makes for the best for writing. For me, anyway. Some writers like sunlight streaming in the windows, some like to hunker down by candlelight while a storm rages outside, some like a cup of steaming coffee and a 5am morning (NOT me!) and some just like to write when the mood hits them, and they block out everything but the computer in front of them.

I think that might be me. I have a gift (curse?) of blocking things out. It's not very good sometimes, because if I'm on the phone, or reading a book, I don't hear anyone around me. I shut them out, and focus on what I'm doing. It really does drive my hubby nuts. And my kids.

I think morning might be the best for me, now that I think about it. Especially after the kids have left for school and the house is quiet. Except for my three-year old. Can't exactly block him out. ;-)

The Golden Touch

Jealousy. It's a tricky thing. I'm not going to lie. When fellow writers gush about their latest seventeen-book series sale to me (okay I'm exaggerating but indulge me) I am always happy for them. ALWAYS. Genuinely and truly. No sarcasm at all.

But there's always that little nagging feeling, where the little green monster sometimes peeks his head above the water, just for a minute. I think--"Hmmmm, why do some people seem to have "the Golden Touch?" There are a few of them out there. You know. The ones who "have a dream" write it down, and suddenly they are a household name. People who have people LINE UP AT MIDNIGHT at bookstores to buy their books.

Yeah, sometimes I get a little jealous of those "golden touch" people. But you know what? It doesn't happen to everyone. In fact, more people are likely to fail at this business than succeed.

You only get out of Life what you put into it, right? Generally speaking.

The Itch I Can't Scratch.

I have the writing Itch. And the only way to scratch it, is to spend at least several uninterrupted hours in my office, typing away and lost in my own world.

NOT. Happening. Not unless I want to hog-tie my kids and tranquilizer-dart-gun them and put them in a closet and shut the door and put on earplugs. Even when my oldest three are in school, I have a three year old who is VERY freaked out about the prospect of not being within ten feet of me and asking me 9385847586 questions every hour.

Naptime. Naptime is my salvation, and SOMEONE (a very little someone), is starting to think naptime is unnecessary. BIG PROBLEM. Mommy will stick a very sharp object in her eye if she doesn't get naptime. (Not mommy, the three-year old!) Because Mommy needs naptime to write and edit and get some sanity back!

Hmmm, I wonder if you can buy tranquilizer dart guns online...

What's your Inspiration?

Inspiration for writing comes in many forms. People watching at the airport, conversations overheard on cell phones (why is it that people speak so LOUDLY once they answer a call?) a good movie, a good book, or even a trip to the supermarket.

Music is probably my biggest inspiration. If I know I'm going to write a historical fantasy, I put on the Enya/Celtic harp. Historical? The music of the time period.

Lately, it's been movies. My kids decided to watch a Harry Potter movie every Friday, and currently we're on Goblet of Fire. I tell you, it amazes me, the depth of Jo Rowling's imagination. People say she's too fond of adverbs, etc. etc. etc., but she is an amazing storyteller and frankly, if you get so lost in a story you don't notice the imperfections, THAT is what I call success.

Great storytelling inspires me. Now on to what I've been attempting to do!

Settling In

I still can't believe it was September first yesterday! That means NINE freaking months have gone by, without any submissions from me! This move has sucked the life out of everything I hold dear--writingwise. Now I am done unpacking, and just shoving the durn boxes in storage, I am happy to be back in the writing sphere. Writing, editing, SUBMITTING. My sticky note on my Mac says the following:

"A Diamond is a piece of coal that stuck to the job."

I know, BEYOND cheesey, but inspiring all the same. And so I, like that little lump of coal, will be diligent, and keep editing...