WIP Wednesday: Back to the Drawing Board

As I wrote about last week, I'm rewriting my V-Day novel from scratch. Many of you told me in the comments that I was not crazy, and I appreciate it!

But this week I've hit another road block with this particular novel: Now that the character has changed, her motivations have also changed. And if I lose her original (admittedly rather weird) motivation, then ... um ... it's a totally different book. The inciting incident of her trying to get a boyfriend on Valentine's Day doesn't work anymore. This new character wouldn't care about that!

It's complicated, and I'm probably not explaining it very well, but the bottom line is that V-Day needs to take an even longer rest. I need more time to think.

Can anyone relate?

Meanwhile, I'm going back to working on my new WIP. Weronika Janczuk was kind enough to critique my query and first ten pages and I received her feedback yesterday. She had some great things to say and it has motivated me to dive into this project again.

Also vying for my attention is the short story I mentioned yesterday, The Tiffin Box, and the children's story I mentioned a couple weeks ago, Ballerina Mom.

Lots to do! But right now I'm going to go lie down for a few minutes. I don't have time to, really. I'm supposed to be cooking and cleaning my house because we're having guests for dinner. But I've got a sore throat and sinus trouble -- and even typing this entry has pretty much consumed my energy.

Stay well, everyone, and happy writing!

A Story A Week: The Tiffin Box

On Sunday I realized I hadn't started a story for this week. Even worse, I didn't even have an idea for a story. I decided to give myself grace, maybe do a free writing exercise in place of a story, and simply accept my physical and creative limitations.

But then, that same day, an idea walloped me. Not just any idea, but an idea I'm absolutely in love with. I did something I haven't done since I started my story-a-week challenge: I wrote nearly three thousand words in one day. That meant staying up until two in the morning on Sunday night, but hey, I was on fire!

Here's the pitch for my short story THE TIFFIN BOX:

Sylvie is vacationing on the small island of Cheung Chau off the coast of Hong Kong when she and her daughter discover an abandoned holiday bungalow overgrown by jungle. Picking their way through the dilapidated rooms, they stumble upon what they think must have been the servant's quarters. There they unearth an old fashioned tiffin box -- an enamelware set of dishes that stack together and lock in place with a clasp. Their find is intriguing on its own, but when they open the box, a fifty-year-old letter falls out. Sylvie tells herself it's most likely a laundry list -- nothing important. But when they meet an elderly gentleman on the ferry home who offers to translate it for them, Sylvie finds out a secret kept by a long-dead servant girl is a secret that could taint her own world as well.

Confession time: I'm not quite finished. I have a little over three thousand words, but I haven't felt well the last couple days (probably as a result of my into-the-wee-hours writing binge). I also needed to figure out how to end the story. I had a few different ideas and needed to figure out which one was best before I plowed through.

Still, I'm excited. I love Sylvie's character. She's an upscale expatriate British woman living in Hong Kong and it was fun to write in her voice, even though the story is written in third-person. Oh, and if you're wondering, that's part of Cheung Chau Island in the picture above.

I do have a favor to ask. Would any of my blog readers be willing to critique this for me when I'm done? I would appreciate the feedback. Maybe I could critique the first few chapters of a novel in exchange? Let me know in the comments or email me (a2sonnichsen (at) gmail (dot) com) if you're interested.

Hope you're all having fabulous Tuesdays (or Wednesdays for those not in America)!

Rainbows and Other Randomness

On Thursday night, my kids saw their first American rainbow from our deck. I had to remind my son of the time he asked me, "Mom, are rainbows real?"

Then we saw the rainbow had a faint, but true, friend.

And, in unrelated news, this is what happens when you give a man a chain saw:

My darling hubby had a very productive day yesterday, chopping down all the dead arborvitae bordering our yard and also the dread (though admittedly beautiful-in-spring) apricot tree.

I think he enjoyed himself. He sounded like me when I'm on a writing binge: "Do you mind if I cut down just a few more trees before it gets dark?" My version is: "Do you mind if I try to finish just one more chapter before I come to bed?"

Happy Palm Sunday, everyone!

Active Writing

What's cooking? I don't know yet. It's a lazy Saturday afternoon and I haven't thought that far ahead. I'm still exhausted after creating spinach pockets last night.

I have to create in semi-private.

Why?

Because I look ridiculous when I'm writing.

I utter disjointed phrases out loud without warning.

I make absurd facial expressions, trying to see which part of my face is working to make the expression so I can describe it.

I do things with my hands and arms. For instance, just now I wanted to describe a woman's dangly earrings moving when she nodded her head. I wanted a better word than "moving," so I held out my hand and let my fingers dangle and wiggled them around to see what that looked like.

If anyone had been standing around watching me for the last ten minutes, they'd probably think I was psycho. So, I'm glad for a quiet, private space. I don't write as well in coffee shops, for instance.

Do you do anything strange while you're writing or are you more subdued?

Friday Free for All

What's Cooking? I finally found where they keep philo dough at the grocery store (in the frozen section with the pie crusts, in case you were wondering). So, we're having philo dough spinach-ricotta pockets made with more toufu than ricotta, because I often replace my ricotta with toufu and it works out very well.

While we're on the subject of food, thanks for all the comments yesterday ... they have indeed given me food for thought.

My children are all either napping or out to the store with their daddy, so I need to get stop blogging and keep writing my novel. But I just wanted to tell you it's officially spring break at our house since this 11a.m. when my hubby got home from conferences. I'm not sure if that will mean more writing time for me (because my hubby's a teacher, so he's home too) or less (you know, out playing in the gorgeous sunshine). Hopefully a good balance of both.

Meanwhile, my mother's in Israel and my sister's in Napal for their spring breaks. My dad is home alone in Hong Kong, but he'll stay busy enough. He's finishing edits of his book. I'll be critiquing it when he's done with this round.

Besides that, check out this competition on Beth Revis' blog (Note: I had a friend in China named Ruth Bevis, so Beth Revis' name always makes me do a double take!). She's celebrating because her book found a publisher. And she has an awful lot of cool things to give away to a very lucky writer OR reader, so please click on the link above and check it out.

In other very fun news, the darling hubby said we can look into me attending the LA SCBWI summer conference this year! Our baby will be almost two ... so maybe he can handle things around here without me for a few day. I'm almost speechless with excitement. Better start clipping more coupons and saving my pennies! Is anyone else thinking of going?

Have a wonderful Friday, everyone. I'm off to write while the house is silent.

Taking Criticism

I entered Authoress' 25-word critique fest over on her blog, Miss Snark's First Victim.

Here's my entry -- the first 25-words from the book I'm currently rewriting:

V-Day, 7 a.m.

The card for Marshall was gone. Totally gone.

I’d searched every conceivable place, even pulled my bed out from against the wall.

So far, I'm getting mixed reviews.

Now usually I feel like I can take critique. I appreciate feedback, even when it's feedback I don't want to hear. I'm pretty thick skinned.

But I'll admit, my internal dialogue while I was reading some of the comments on my first 25 words was disturbing. I was actually getting snarky.

For example:

COMMENT: Not really hooked, but it might be a personal preference. I just don't have a reason to care. MY REACTION: What do you mean, you don't care? Were you expecting to care? How can anyone possibly care about a character after 25 words. Are you kidding me?

COMMENT: I probably wouldn't read on. MY REACTION: Ooo-kay. That's not helpful. At. All.

COMMENT: Not much action or conflict going on here, but would read a bit more to see if it picks up. MY REACTION: How much action do you need in 25 words? What do you want her to do -- throw herself out of a building?

Okay, you get the point. My internal reactions were pretty ugly.

Now that I've had a bit of time to think about these critiques AND my reactions, I've come to some conclusions:

(1) A REASON TO CARE: If several people say they don't feel connected to a character, I have two options. I can get all upset and defensive and say, "How can you expect to feel connected to a character in 25 words?" Or I can recognize that this is a valid critique. I need to infuse more of my main character's personality into those first words. I have to. If I don't, I will lose readers. How am I going to do this? At this point, I have no idea, but it's a goal.

(2) NOT HOOKED: I do appreciate constructive feedback more than just an "I don't like it" type of feedback. BUT, I'm realizing I can turn even bare, subjective criticism into useful feedback. Obviously, something's not working as well as it could be here. I can't please everyone, but I can make this better in some way. In other words, it's not there yet. I need to accept that and keep working.

(3) MORE ACTION: I'm still not completely convinced the first sentences NEED action for people to keep reading. I was hooked by other participants' entries that weren't at all action oriented. Still, this is good feedback. Maybe I'm wasting words stating the obvious -- that the card is missing. Maybe I need to tinker with this more to bring out the urgency of her situation.

The lessons I've taken from this exercise?

• Don't underestimate the power of those first 25 words! They might be the only words someone reads when they're skimming your book at a bookstore.


• It's never too early to infuse character.


• If you're going to include action, make it pop so that no one misses it.

Bottom line, taking criticism is hard sometimes. But ultimately, it's a writer's life, so I'd better get used to it.

Did anyone else participate in this critique fest? Any thoughts?

P.S. I wonder if I critiqued any of my friends' pieces without even knowing it. If I did, I hope my comments were helpful!

WIP Wednesday: Done

How often do you get to say DONE to an Work-in-Progress? The answer is: NEVER. At least, that's my experience. I guess when eventually the WiP becomes The Published Book, you have to leave it alone, but until then, DONE is a four-letter word.

I am DONE with my first draft of my WiP, though: 67,000 words, baby!

Now I will let it take a long nap while I rewrite V-Day. Come back to it with new eyes in a few months. Sleep well, WiP!

And when I say rewrite V-Day, I mean I'm literally rewriting V-Day. I'm not just sitting down to add a little more polish and sparkle. I mean I'm sitting down without my finished document and starting over.

Call me crazy.

Honestly, though, do you think I'm crazy? I'm really, truly asking.

This is my dilemma: I rewrote the first chapter and Thia was different. Her voice was different. So, there's really not much I can salvage from the first five drafts, besides a vague storyline.

So, I'm diving into it. Maybe it's a dive off a cliff. Thankfully, I do enjoy cliff jumping (see #3) ... as long as I land in deep water. And the deep water here is that I know these characters pretty well. I also know exactly where the plot is going. For these reasons, it feels like this "draft" is writing itself. At least, so far.

I'll keep you posted.