I had really been looking forward to the Surrey International Writers Conference this year, and it worked out to be so much more than I had hoped.
The first thing I did was take a master class from Laura Bradford, founder of the Bradford Literary Agency. It was amazing. I couldn’t think what my comp would be for “Not Too Late Forever”. Comp is short for comparable. In other words, what two things, movies or books, could be compared together to describe my book. I always knew there were similarities to “Avatar”. But what could I compare this to, to get a flavor of what the book is about. In a discussion group, one of the other participants suggested, “Avatar” meets “Enemy Mine”. Oh my gosh! That is so true.
Using this and additional sustenance gleaned from that workshop, I was able to do a decent presentation to Nephele Tempest, the agent who I pitched to. I went in with no hope of being asked to send to her. However, after reading her my new comp and pitch, she asked me to send the first 50 pages.
Before I even headed home, I started another edit of my book. I know it will always need polishing, but hopefully this time I will make a decent impression and get offered representation.
All things said and done, it was time to wrap things up and head home. There I have dug in and begun another edit of my work to take to my critique group. And now it’s time to get to work on the next set of pages to present.
Keep the coffee flowing.
Respectfully submitted,
Jodi
It’s been a rough week up to this point.
The things that have been getting me down, might not seem much to some folks, but for me they are combining to become overwhelming. Funny, but that’s when my writing is so very important. My characters never seem to let me down. Oh, I don’t mean that they do the things that I want them to. It’s just that I can usually have a written conversation with one or the other in my current story and they always come through to help me get the scene pulled together.
I’m not published, and I wonder if that will ever happen. Despite that, I can always escape with my writing.
I have a story in “Not Too Late Forever” that I still can hardly believe is a full book. Every time I sit down and work on it, it takes on more and more depth. Now for the umpteenth time I’m going through the edit of this book. I’m not really sure how many times that is, but I guess I’ll go through it this time, and probably go through it for the umpteenth time plus one or two, or even three. Some I’ve taken to my writers/critique group, others I have not.
Well, despite the fact that I can count on my characters, I better get back to work on the latest edit. Life goes on and things happen. I just need to relax and enjoy what I have.
Keep the coffee flowing.
Respectfully submitted,
Jodi
The smoke hangs heavy over my hometown. Every year it seems to get worse, but there a those who don’t understand why. They would deny climate change, yet acknowledge that each year there are more forest fires and smoke in the air. The winters are warmer. There’s less snow fall than there was years ago. I’m not sure what it will take to wake some up. Maybe they never will. Sad this is a saga to fit into one of my stories.
I grew up among the Redwoods in Northern California, on my Grandmother’s 40 acres. Along with my sisters and cousins, I took all the beauty and splendor for granted. More and more, I understand how lucky we were to have those forested acres to play in and explore.
Instead of being cooped inside playing video games, we were outside, building forts and playing war. We dug in the dirt and went on long walks down the logging road that snaked through the property. Adults and kids would spend hours together picking wild blackberries.
Close to the Pacific Ocean, the draw to spend time hunting for agates and playing in the surf drew us each summer. Rain or shine, out of doors kept us coming back.
Those were great times. Each generation needs to find their own ways of escape. Mine helped build my imagination and my yearning to write. It took a very good friend’s challenge to inspire me beyond my stories. The challenge to write a book was, at the time, a no brainer. I look back now and realize what a massive feat it is to write a book. That I accepted the challenge and started is something I will always owe my dear friend the biggest debt anyone can imagine.
So for now, it’s time to get back to the edit of the book that grows each time I sit down with it.
Keep the coffee flowing.
Respectfully submitted,
Jodi
This time last week, I was missing in action. I needed to take care of me. That included some dental surgery.
This week I’m back and ready to dedicate even more time to my writing. I have two sets of edits from my critique group to work on, as well as another chapter to finish preparing for them.
This edit is feeling really good. One of the things that makes this possible is that I’m getting input that helps build dimensions to my story. I also find myself in the position of defending some the science that takes place in the book.
The latest of these is where an evacuation takes place and why. I had thought that it was because of the defeat of the army of my male protagonist. I find it is not the defeat by the other waring faction, but by the inhabitants of the planet where the battle takes place. This just happens to be the nursery of the species represented by the antagonist of the story. Now, I just need to work this into the book, and also foreshadow some of the evil to come.
Whatever your creative passion is, I hope that you find it as mesmerizing as I find mine.
Until next week, keep the coffee flowing.
Respectfully submitted,
Jodi
This week I continue to work on the edit of my book “Not Too Late Forever”. It’s feeling really good, because some of those in my critique group are down to the point of “I like it, but…” Where the “but” comes in is something like, “You like to make up words, so give me a word that one character feels for this emotion or similar word for feelings toward another character. Some of the group have been through multiple edits with me. For others in the group, it’s the first time they’ve heard the story.
The thing that thrills me is that the comments and suggestions, for the most part, are adding an incredible amount of depth to the story and characters without changing the main premise and content.
I’m also finding that the suggestions are thought provoking, but don’t add a lot of extra words to the book.
So back to making up words. That’s one of the more fun parts of my writing. I’ve made up words for time measurements, from the second up to and including the year. I’ve also made up words for cultures and forms of transportation. Another thing that’s happened with my writing is that I’ve gotten to know different cultures and some their traditions. I’m sure that as I go along with this edit, that I’ll get more suggestions on how to add more depth and dimension to the story and characters.
For now, it’s time to get back to learning what the new words are and working with or choosing not to work with the suggestions made.
Keep the coffee flowing.
Respectfully submitted,
Jodi
