GOAL!

I made my goal - over 50,000 words and 200 pages!

Plus, after a heavy-duty brainstorming session, I created a "reason" for my novel. I invented impending doom, a time limit, and the reason behind the entire journey with the help of one simple stolen object. Oh, no - I didn't steal the item! My villain actually did. Now, each plot thread ties neatly into my new main idea, turning my aimless tale into a complex, multi-layered story.

However, this new addition means...yes, of course, you guessed it, back again to Chapter One to input the changes! I feel like it's a never-ending cycle. But the cycle must end in 39 days. I can see December 31st looming on the horizon...

"Kaeli" Update: A little overwhelmed...

Impending Doom

I stayed up until midnight, feverishly flying through the few remaining chapters of The Hunger Games. I kept glancing at the clock as the minutes ticked swiftly by, along with each page. I had to get up for church in the morning. Early. I tried to put the book down numerous times. But, every time, another exciting scene propelled me forward. All the way to the end.

Needless to say, I was tired the next morning.

Suspense, ladies and gentlemen. My book severely lacks suspense. There is no time limit. No sense of impending doom. No dangerous foes to run from. No wicked enemies to face (until the very end). Elle wanders, blissfully unaware of any danger, through the story, with the mentality, "What a fun little adventure we're on!"

I'll admit, it's not quite that bad. But it feels this way. Where is the drama? Where is the action? Where is the suspense? Where is the heart-stopping twist that forces nail-biting readers onward, despite the quickly aging day? What does Elle have to gain if she succeeds? What does she have to lose if she fails?


Novel Update: Once again, it's time to brainstorm. 10 chapters completed (fourth draft) and 45 days until......query letter time.

Tools of the Trade

By night, I'm an aspiring best-selling author. But, by day, I'm a hairstylist. A typical eight-hour day for a stylist involves doing hair (certainly) but, in the slower seasons (for example, right now), it involves a lot of waiting. Waiting for walk-ins with four other stylists. And impatient Kaeli does not like to wait...

I've spent the majority of my waiting time flying through the pages of the Hunger Games. On a side note, I'm not sure how one book, after six chapters, could turn from "A little slow, at first" to "I can't put it down!". I am impressed, Suzanne Collins. Most definitely impressed.

While the Hunger Games is an exceptional way to pass time, I decided, seeing as how I only have 49 days left til deadline, I probably should spend of a few of those hours...writing. And, as a hairstylist needs sharpened shears and a working blowdryer, a writer needs the proper tools as well.

So, today, I bought a netbook.

It is mind-blowing. Amazing.

For, those of you who are wondering "What's a netbook anyway?", it's basically a doll-size laptop. Probably, one of the coolest inventions since duct tape and jeggings. And I'm thoroughly excited to continue my writing journey on this petite 10" screen. It's simply adorable.

Novel Update: First chapter is really beautiful now. Elle's world is coming to life! 9 chapters edited (third draft...or is it fourth?) and 49 days remaining...

Writing with Little Arms

Don't you hate it when you realize one of your main plot themes makes no sense at all? I know I do.

It isn't the first time it's happened to me, certainly. And I'm sure it won't be the last.

I realized the issue though. I find myself handling great complex ideas and main plot points with Tyrannosaurus Rex arms. In other words, I've been undeniably lazy. I don't unwrap the idea to its full potential. I don't flesh out the details. I simply plunk an amazing theme into the middle of my novel, and hope the readers don't ask too many questions about it. I give them the stock "parent" answer when they ask, "But why?". Ehem, because I said so, don't you know.

The "because I said so" seems like such a simple answer. But readers don't buy it for long. It's true, I'm actually afraid to delve fully into an idea. I'm worried I'll come across more problems to solve and more inconsistencies to adjust. And, frankly, oftentimes I feel I don't want to work that hard. Laziness, indeed. It's easier to slip a beautiful unopened flowerbud into my story, and then that messy stuff known as pollen won't spoil anything.  

But I don't want my readers asking, "What's the point?" I want to put my whole effort into making this novel the best it can be. And so, I intend to return (yes, for the fifth time) to my beginning chapters and make each idea bigger and bolder. I want the book to spring to life. I want the story to be so realistic and true to life that it completely engulfs my readers.

Novel update: I'm widening my road map, and acquiring a giraffe neck to compensate for my T-Rex arms as I traverse these last 54 days til deadline.

Too Many Choices

 

Literary agents. I never realized how many existed out there! Finding an agent is like trying to select an ice cream flavor at Baskin & Robbins. As you peer down into the deep wide freezer box, you are overwhelmed by the limitless possibilites. And I, being slightly commitment-phobic, balk a bit at "limitless possiblities".

You must choose one, Kaeli.

But I don't want to choose just one! And, what if the one I choose is the wrong one!

True, literary agents themselves help limit your options by listing what they will and WILL NOT represent. But, that too is extremely disheartening. Far too many agents want middle-grade literature, but NOT fantasy middle-grade literature. And what can I do?! Transport all my dwarves, fairies, and princesses to modern day? I think not.

As they (still not sure who "they" is?) say, nothing worth doing is ever easy. Finding an agent is more trouble than actually writing the manuscript. And crafting a query letter BETTER than your novel...well, let's not even traverse that tangent.


Novel update: 9 weeks until deadline. I'm mapping out what still needs to be accomplished. Several more scenes are still waiting to be written and added (which will hopefully give me my desired 200 pages). I'm starting to feel a little nervous... As Willy Wonka put it: "So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.".