Have you seen this insanity!? Bagel Head Saline Injections!? Japan. You have officially lost me.
Did you see where the Hyperbole and a Half gal got a book deal!? Awesome! She is too funny.
Did anyone miss this???
EPIC!
It happens. You write a story you enjoyed writing and being a part of. You decide that, hey, it might be good enough. You spend a butt-ton of time editing it (having other people edit it.) And then you put it out there. I'm talking about me, btw. Keep up.
Then...dun dun dunnnnnn...it isn't up to scratch. It isn't the writing(I have been told), it isn't the story(so much) it's a lot of little things. And when you get a bunch of little things that keep you down with that story, you have 2 choices: Revise to change all those little things. Or call it quits.
Me, I have amazing, wonderful writer friends in my corner and am not bummed so much as sorry they "wasted" time on a novel that just isn't going to work out right now.
But we move on. Something about character and not getting knocked down but how long it takes to get up or something.
My other novel that has been shelved for a year or so is being dusted off. Am proud beyond words of this idea and thrilled to make it kick-ass. So, away this writer shall go. The journey goes on. It'll happen. Encouraging words and such.
Query status: closed for now. With the queries still out, if one of those agents loves the story idea enough to pick it up, then awesome. If changes are requested after that, no problem. I am all in. But as is, I don't think it's something an agent will take a chance on.
HEY! This is catchy!
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Happy Monday!
Okay, that bagel head thing is just weird. REALLY weird. It looks a little like they are going for the Vampire a la Buffy look... or sleestaks... do you remember sleestaks?
ReplyDeleteI'm in totaly support of temporary shelving of works. I look at it this way--1) You learn with every new book you write, so somewhere in there might be the lessons on how to fix the old one, and 2) when you get a book SOLD, you have a pile of ideas to pitch your agent/publisher for 'which do you want next'? and you just have to clean at that point (or have professional help for the fixing)
I end up shelving works, then coming back to the idea and realizing it's really good, but I took a wrong turn somewhere. But unless I start completely over, I find I can't really take the story I created before and make it something. I have to take the idea, rework it in my brain, and start from scratch. That's probably weird! I also completely rewrote a manuscript once because an agent advised me to make it a middle grade instead of young adult. The only thing I kept was the basic premise and the character names. I figured (correctly) that writing the thing over again as if the other one hadn't existed would be easier than revising it to make the characters younger. Middle grade isn't just about the characters being younger...the sentence structure, word usage, etc. are all different.
ReplyDeleteJust so long as you don't give up!
ReplyDeleteI've temporarily shelved some novels that just weren't working. But I have come back and discovered ways to revise them that might bring them back to life. Good luck on the new WiP!
ReplyDeleteI shelved mine when I was only 75% done. Blech. The good news is I took the basic idea and a couple main characters, started over, and wrote almost 5,000 BETTER words in 2 days. So keep going, Colene, we can do this!!
ReplyDelete(did you watch Green Lantern yet? Ryan Reynolds in a tight green suit isn't bad...)
erica
Maybe it's radiation that's kinda fried their brains? And that Britney/Hunger Games spoof. Hysterical!
ReplyDeleteAs for shelving a novel. I've shelved many. You know, some stories just don't work. Or the time for them isn't right. Or you're not ready. The thing is, there are a ton more stories out there waiting to be written. One will find you.
So glad people are finding you, no matter the way...:)
ReplyDeleteBagel heads? OMG. Have people got NOTHING better to do?
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how those shelved projects can call to us from time to time, isn't it? You get going with the dusting - I'm sure it's an awesome novel!
Ellie Garratt
Can you imagine writing something that so captured the world? The kids who grew up reading HP are grown up but still love that magical world.
ReplyDeleteThis was filmed at my alma mater
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySN8Q4U6wys
Oh, and the Hunger Games video is hilarious. "I'll bake you pies"?
ReplyDeleteHappy Monday! And like Alex says, don't give up! Keep on writing!!!
ReplyDeletePottermore, I love that video, brilliant graphics. JK Rowling is definitely leading the way for HP fans!
Big yikes on the bagel thing - eeeeee!
ReplyDeleteYou have a fabulous blog! I’m an author and illustrator and I made some awards to give to fellow bloggers whose sites I enjoy. I want to award you with the Creative Blog Award for all the hard work you do!
ReplyDeleteI invite you to follow me, if you haven’t already done so, since we have a lot in common, but no pressure. I’m not giving you the award just so you will follow me. You really do deserve it!
Take care:-)
Go to http://astorybookworld.blogspot.com/p/awards.html and pick up your award.
~Deirdra
P.S.
Since you are an avid reader I was wondering if I could interview you and get your insights into the books you enjoy.
I'm also looking to interview published authors (agented, self published, small press, etc.) to find out what they wrote and what the pathway to publishing was like for them.
Let me know if you are interested in being interviewed and I will send over the questions you can fill out at your leisure. My email address is Guidedhope (at)gmail(dot)com.
~Deirdra
You are so inspiring! I'm happy to be witness to your journey. :)
ReplyDeleteOh my god, I can't stop laughing over your stats because of your comments afterward. I needed that after that stupid link that is going to GIVE ME NIGHTMARES. Saline injections? EEEEEEEEEWWWWW. Those girls were scary. :-(
ReplyDeleteDude those body modifications or deformations or whatever are scary. How people can do that to themselves just boggles the mind.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear the query update, even if no news yet. At least it's out there, and hopefully someone will pick it up soon! I got my fingers crossed for ya. :)
That pottermore I'm kinda 'meh' about....
ReplyDeleteDude, you DID NOT WASTE OUR TIME. No more talk about that, you hear missy?? Or I may just sic my real zombie mermaid on you.
FEAKY BAGELHEADS....
ReplyDeleteYAY FOR POTTERMORE!
Keep at it Colene.... IT will fall it to place for you.....
I hope your MS finds a home with a loving agent soon!
ReplyDeleteThat video was hee-larious!
Pottermore looks awesome! And I know exactly how you feel about putting a project aside for a little bit and revising. I've also put some away for good. It's hard, but you'll know what you're supposed to do. **Hugs** And that video was hilarious! ;)
ReplyDeleteYay for Pottermore! I think it's an uber smart move. And I've shelved a few stories too. Sometimes we have to come back to them later.. and with each new story I write, I learn more. With each new partner I crit for, I learn more. So no story is wasted... they are each learning and stepping stones to get to where we need to be.
ReplyDeleteLoved these videos! Thanks for posting! :)
I've so been there and just revising my book for the umpteenth time. Keep writing and those little things will come.
ReplyDeleteDon't despair. I know of a successfully published author who shlved her MS over 17 years and kept re doing it. It's now one of my favourite novels. :O)
ReplyDeleteI've queried, and gotten rejected, and edited and queried more (rinse and repeat). It happens. But if you actually got comments from agents, that's super cool! Most of the time they just send the form rejections.
ReplyDeleteI am nearing that point with my first book, but I've been working on a second. We just have to keep plugging along!
This bagel head thing is bizarre - did you read the end of the article where the guy talked about amputation as a form of "body modification" people are actually doing?
ReplyDeleteI've heard shelving your projects for a long time can be a really good thing. ;D
It WILL happen cause you are packed full of awesomeness.
hi Colene!
ReplyDeleteLove the vids! THanks for sharing.
I've given you a BLOG AWARD and you can drop by anytime you're free to get it. Hopefully it helps to brighten up your day. :)
warm regards,
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
Maybe it's because I've never been a Pott-head, but I really don't get the whole Pottermore thing. I could be misunderstanding it, but it just seems like the sort of thing the Trek-kie geeks would have come up with years ago.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about the story. :o( I've kind of put my previous baby off to the side, because I realized it still needed a little more storyline work. But I'm glad to hear you got good people in your corner keeping you from getting all writing career suicidal and all.
Happy 4th of July weekend!
Oh, a hyperbole and a half book deal! Fantastic! She just cracks me up.
ReplyDeleteThat Hunger video is hysterical. The pie! The pie! After seeing JKs video, I'm thinking of changing my accent. People would take me more seriously, I think.
ReplyDeleteNo worries, Colene. You've got a great writerly support system and WIT! I've shelved stories, myself. There's a time and a place for everything. It will happen - keep at it! :)
ReplyDelete