I'm (as ever) utterly enchanted by SoCal. . . My flight out was (as seems inevitable this summer) a mess. It was delayed 7 hours--which had me arriving inLong Beach at 3am PST which felt like 6am to my still-on-EST-mind. The rental car place--despite assurances that my car would be available--was closed. Aaah, the joys of travel . . . Is it sad that I was mostly just relieved that this flight hadn't been canceled like the last two.
I'm recovered & have spent the last few days quite happily nestled in one of my fav places in the world. This morning I watched a seal (sea lion? I don't ever recall which pinniped is which. It was one of the two). Yesterday, I watched the same sax player I watched the summer I wrote WL. He's in the book. One of the few real-world things I very intentionally put in there. Every summer I consider telling him I put him in a book to play for my beloved Donia. I don't though. It seems too . . . idk . . . something to tell him. Instead, I go each year and listen to him. I put my money in his collection and say hello. I don't imagine that he actually remembers me. I'm just one of the countless people who stop and smile at him.
This afternoon I curled up down by the Japenese Garden and had a nice cup of tea while I watched people pause & wander by. I wrote for several hours. Ani's story, the fourth novel . . .
Last weekend I took my "nephews" (not by blood, but by choice) and my son to see Wall-E. It was the first time I've been to the theatre since last year when I took them to Transformers. It was good. We ate junk food (waaay more candy than I'm sure I should eat, but they seemed content w sugar overload even though I was feeling over-saturated by it).
Of course, I also got my customary sunburn. SPF 50 simply isn't enough these days. When I lived here, I was down to SPF 30, but my tolerance is all gone. *sigh*
Tomorrow, I'm taking a few hours to go to museums with my son . . . and then back to writing.
In the not-retreat world, an interview I did with Juvenil Romantica is live. http://juvenilromantica.blogspot.com/
So... I have news. *blushes*
My dark urban fantasy Unholy Ghosts--which my husband described as "Ghostbusters meets Escape From New York", set in a post-apocalyptic world where ghosts rose from the grave and killed a huge chunk of the population, and now they're kept under control by the iron-willed (in more ways than one) Church of Truth, which is government and secular religion all in one--sold to Del Rey, in a three book deal! I don't have any official word on release date yet but we're hoping for Fall '09.
I'm so, so excited, and to celebrate, here's the blurb from the original query letter I sent my agent and a little excerpt!
Sometimes addictions are more trouble than they're worth…
Owing money to drug lords is never a good idea, especially not if you're Cesaria "Chess" Putnam, possibly the only woman in the punk-rock ghetto known as Downside who really has something to lose: her job as a Debunker for the omnipotent Church of Truth.
Chess's dealer offers her a choice. She can catch the mastermind behind the fake haunting of an abandoned airport so he can smuggle drugs into it, or spend weeks in the hospital after his enforcer breaks her habit for her—along with most of her bones. Chess picks the airport, but when a rotting corpse turns up with a soul still trapped inside and it looks as if the person responsible is one of her co-workers, she realizes the airport's ghosts are real and this case is far more dangerous than a beating. Hey, who said downer-addicted loners made good choices?
And here's a snippet, from the scene where Chess meets her dealer, Bump, and he outlines his plan:
( Read more... )
Squee! I love this book so much, and I'm so excited I get to share it with everyone! It's got ghosts and drugs and gore and great music and black magic and violence and tattoos and death curses and a black '69 Chevelle and a hot Asian guy and a big huge greaser and...all sorts of cool stuff, and I hope everyone else loves it as much as I do!
Thanks for letting me gush a little!
Didn't rewrite those scenes. Just realised after writing the later ones that I didn't need them.
Which brings me to the real question:
What sparks your novels? Which element comes first: the title, the character, the idea, the world, the central conflict, a specific scene, or something else? Is it different for each work, or do you consistently begin with one? Do you wait until that element is in place before writing?
Mine are all over the map--one started with a title that was so suggestive that the characters and basic plot spilled into my head in less than an hour. Two others started with an idea ("Wouldn't it be cool if...?") but percolated in the back of my mind for over a year until a character, story, or scene attached themselves. One was based on a song.
How about you? As always, Members and Watches alike are encouraged to share. Also, if someone can find that original FFF post about book titles, please link to it here. I'd love to reread it. Thanks!
---Jeri Smith-Ready
Basically, I never really name my characters -- ninety percent of them, if not more, show up with their names firmly attached. I may sometimes be wrong about nicknames (like I thought Georgia went by 'Geo,' when she actually goes by 'George'), but it's extremely rare for me to have a character show up with the wrong name, or without a name at all. It's all organic and happens in the back of my head, where I'm not allowed to touch anything (my subconscious has a restraining order out on me).
Only it turns out that I need to change the name of the primary love interest in Lycanthropy and Other Personal Interests, for reason of collision with characters of similar names in books with similar settings. Ugh. Currently, his name is Jason Von Patton, no nicknames known or used. I'm planning to keep the last name, and I'm flailing for a new first name.
How do you deal with this? I mean, how do you choose character names, and when you have to change them, how do you make it work? I don't have any jokes or scenes built entirely around his name, but he's 'Jason' in my head, and it's going to be awfully hard to adjust.
Thoughts?
- Mood:
annoyed - Music:Emm Gryner, 'Hello Aquarius.'
Crossposted from my personal blog.
Transom: an opening over the door or through the door (often with a window which could be opened to cool down the room).
Over the Transom: especially in older days of publishing (i.e.: most likely before the 70s), writers/postal carriers routinely delivered manuscripts 'over the transom' when the publisher wasn't there, though those openings.
Slush Pile: the pile of unsolicited manuscripts an agent/editor/publisher gets (conjecture speculates that when the editor would get back to his/her office, wading through the manuscripts delivered over the transom was a lot like wading through slush)
One of the questions I'm asked about a lot--especially by both aspiring writers and other creative souls--is how to handle rejection. How do you handle it when people keep telling you "No, your work isn't right for us" or "No, you're not ready to publish yet" and "Sorry, just not what we're looking for"?
Michelle Rowen took a picture of me and Caitlin Kittredge:
I have no idea why I'm making that face, or that obscene gesture. I think I have hand-Tourrettes. Is that possible?
Here's a picture that Nalini Singh took, of me being a wallflower at the Harlequin party (Meljean Brook is next to me).
Nalini was quite the party animal. Every time she came near the table, she'd say "Let's go dance!" Meljean would say "Okay" and I would say "Hellz no" so I ended up watching purses all night. I sat at the same table as Chris Marie Green (Vampire Babylon) but it was too noisy and loud to actually have a conversation. So I mostly sat around and tried to look interested and drank mixed drinks. It was still fun.
And here's a picture at the pre-Rita party, where I saw someone standing next to me and freaked out.
I said "OMG you're Jo Beverley! I love your books! I just bought all of them after reading the one about the nun on the run!"
She was very gracious over my fawning. It was really neat to meet her, and she has the most lovely British accent.
And in case you're wondering, yes, I was a total fangirl for most of the conference. Everyone was really nice about it, though. ;)
- Mood:
silly
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5,333 / 80,000 (6.0%) |
Best day in ages.
I thought the word count was going to fall today, but then I decided to keep the scenes for another day. But I would have added to the word count anyway.
Why oh why oh why oh why is Candyman so sappy? I keep needing to cut back and rewrite the scenes where he exists to de-sappify him and therefore the scenes.
Today, instead of me confusing
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
nadia_lee, I was confused by nadia_lee instead. Hmph. Draft 17, Day 18.
I'd also like to invite those of you who've attended any of the recent conferences/conventions, to give us your take on what you liked best about that particular event or events.
For me, it comes down to the people. Not only do I love catching up with everyone, I really like the energy and the excitement generated when you gather so many individuals who are enthusiastic about writing and books in one place. I find that energy incredibly motivating.
So, what about you all? What do you enjoy about these events? Is there a particular conference/convention that's a favorite? Reasons why?
~ Nalini Singh
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You'd think that since it's my birthday today, that the writing would come easier, but apparently not.
But I've finished two scenes and started another. That's something, at least.
The original pattern is by Ink Circles but the color way is inspired by an
elisem necklace-crown called Fantasy in Red and Black. Everyone describes their characters differently. This is a little hard only in that you have to choose *one* from all of your characters--and likely search through your manuscripts! Put a comment to this post and show us your description and tell us why it's your favorite.
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At least I finished that scene. That horrible scene. Will fix later. Anybody know how to fight with sticks and willing to share?
lilithsaintcrow was right. I need to learn how to wield a weapon, or at least find out what it feels like in my hands. For writerly-types,
sartorias always has good posts and interesting links. Today, I have succeeded in my goal in confusing
nadia_lee, but I think it's cost me my lead in the competition I'm having with her BF over the number of emails we get from her.I've been meaning to post here for ages about Robin McKinley's Sunshine, an urban fantasy that fascinates me by, well, not looking like an urban fantasy.
( Mildly spoilery thoughts behind the cut )
Anyone have other thoughts about how the supernatural world fits into the larger world of urban fantasy stories, or about the ways of presenting both these worlds?
Development Goals and Basic Accounts
Last week we updated our development goals for 2008. Generally we noted a number of cool enhancements and investments to LiveJournal that we are working on, including improved search, usability, and site development.We also wanted to let you know how we hope to accomplish all these things, and how we plan on paying for them. In order to accomplish our stated goals for this year and beyond, we need to increase the revenue gained from both groups of LiveJournal accounts: paid subscription accounts and ad-supported accounts.
As of August 28th, all users will be able to choose to downgrade their account to Basic through their Manage Account page. Additionally, we will start showing advertising to visitors who are not logged in to LiveJournal when they are looking at Basic Account journals and communities.
Basic Account users themselves will not see ads on any Basic journal or community while they are logged in to their account. If you want more information about this, take a look at our new post on
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
lj_2008 where we outline our reasoning.Indian Flash Fiction Contest
In other news, we are excited to tell you we've launched "Quick Tales" LiveJournal's first initiative for users in India, in celebration of India Independence day, August 15th. "Quick Tales" is a flash fiction writing contest in which we're partnering with Caferati.com, one of India's largest online literary communites. The contest's winners will receive some great prizes and it is open to anyone with a mailing address in India. We hope that users with an interest in Indian writing or just India will watch LiveJournal's![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/sponcomm.gif){kind=small}
india_writing community. That's where the finalists and winners will be announced, so keep an eye on it towards the end of September! If you're in India then enter the contest - if your story is slick and quick (under 500 words) then you could be the lucky winner!Meanwhile, back at LiveJournal Inc.
We have updated and redesigned our corporate site. The goal of the redesign was twofold: first, to update the look and feel (Dystopia users will appreciate it!); second, we want to provide a destination for prospective employees, partners, and members of the press where they can access important information about the company. Kudos to our design team.Finding myself with a little amount of down time between contracted-for projects, I'm trying something new to me - taking a "trunked" novel out of storage and trying to poke, prod, snip, and otherwise beat it into a state ready for submission. The particular novel in question has been hidden away for a few years. I'm finding that there are a handful of *gems* in the pages, but there's also a lot of work to do - much more so than I expected when I first thought about taking on this project.
Have you ever reworked a trunk novel? If so, were you successful? Did you actually sell the beast upon completion? Or do you think that sleeping manuscripts should be left in peace?
Mindy, back to the trenches...
Hi Jenna! So let's get right to the questions. When did you decide to be a writer?
The best part about being a writer for me is hearing from readers. I love knowing that people have read and enjoyed my books. I was especially moved when I got an email from a reader who was seriously ill and told me my books helped make the bad times better for her. Books have always been my escape during the worst times in my life, and one of the thoughts that kept me going while I was struggling to sell that first novel was the desire to provide that same kind of escape for others. Learning that I’d done so for at least one reader brought tears to my eyes.
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It's not that bad, since I deleted nearly everything I wrote yesterday and started over.
Contemplating making lists of what I know about the story. List-making is a normal, every day type thing I do. It's not the same as plotting. But if the list gets too long, I think it might drive me nuts.
I could not be more excited about the chance to interview my good friend Jocelynn Drake, whose first novel, Nightwalker debuted on the NYT extended best seller list, and is holding steady there for a second week in a row. Want to know what all the fuss is about?
Read on…!
Jocelynn’s debut Nightwalker is now available from HarperCollins, who will release the first sequel, Dayhunter, in May 2009.
Thanks, Jocelynn!
Yeah, I'm already doing great at the silence thing, eh? ;)
I shared this w the folks on the newsletter & fansite (they always get stuff first), but I figure I can post here now. So . . . Under the cut is the original start to the ending of INK, pre-edits, pre-revision,pre-most everything. It's what would've followed the word "Epilogue" in the book. The current final sequence came after it. I debated whether or not to cut it, but (most days) I think I made the right choice in ending as it does in the final printed version.
Original Start of the Epilogue (UNDER THE CUT) . . .
. . . Back to silence . . . Talk to you all soon . . .
Page Summary
- melissa_writing : brief notes from on retreat [+3]
- fangs_fur_fey :: stacia_kane : An Announcement [+40]
- miladyinsanity : (no subject) [+9]
- fangs_fur_fey :: jer_bear711 : Topic of the Week - Begin the Begin [+56]
- fangs_fur_fey :: seanan_mcguire : Character names -- how do you choose? How do you change? [+17]
- fangs_fur_fey :: yasminegalenorn : Coping With Rejection (Long) [+4]
- irysangel : Last of the RWA photos [+4]
- miladyinsanity : 17/08/2008 [+9]
- fangs_fur_fey :: nalini_singh : Conference Season [+15]
- fangs_fur_fey :: johnlevitt : Urban Fantasy Worlds [+11]
- miladyinsanity : 16/08/2008 [+30]
- fangs_fur_fey :: cheymccray : Your favorite character description from YOUR manuscripts [+67]
- miladyinsanity : 15/08/2008 [+6]
- fangs_fur_fey :: janni : Presenting the urban fantasy worlds [+18]
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/newsinfo.gif)
news :: theljstaff : Basic Accounts, India, and LiveJournal Inc. [+704] - fangs_fur_fey :: mindyklasky : Unpacking the Trunk [+5]
- fangs_fur_fey :: devonmonk : Interview with Jenna Black [+7]
- miladyinsanity : 14/08/2008 [+6]
- fangs_fur_fey :: rkvincent : Interview with Jocelynn Drake [+7]
- melissa_writing : Original Start of the Epilogue for INK (much spoilery-ness) [+9]