Make Every Scene Count

Still revising. And this time reading about writing in the process. Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell is helpful. Regarding scenes, he suggests making sure they are "hip". Each scene should open with a hook, have moments of intensity, and end with a prompt to read on.

Then there's the old goal motivation conflict idea. Old to most, too new to me and some of my pals!

So going back, I'm analyzing every scene and asking myself if it meets that criteria. Is it hip? Where's the GMC? Mostly, those elements are there, buried maybe, but there. I'm finding that if I "pitch" the scene, letting the reader know with a line or two where to look for these elements, it strengthens some of the weaker scenes. Example: Tonight was the night she’d show Christian Benson he wasn’t the only star in her sky. Not a great line, necessarily, but gives direction to the scene.

How do you make every scene count?

Revision Purgatory

Well, hell. It’s more like hell. Before I sent the first pages of Twist of Fate off to various contests, I put those pages through peer review and revised them many times.

Afterwards, I congratulated myself on having sent the best possible entry I could. I then set those pages aside (in ignorant bliss) and proceeded to revise the remainder of the manuscript.

Now, I’m supposed to be done. Maybe making minor edits--polishing, checking for typos and formatting issues etc. But guess what? When I went back to the beginning I found out those first pages simply are not as good as I thought. Yikes, more revisions!

Lesson learned: It’s important to let the manuscript sit, in order to gain objectivity.

What lessons have you learned from revising your WIP?

The Winner Is

Chris Journal!

Future Chris Orleans, you've won a Barnes and Noble gift card. Click the email icon and send me your snail mail.

Thanks for playing everyone!

To Pseudonym or Not to Pseudonym? That is the Contest.

Welcome to India's Inaugural Contest. Winner (chosen by random drawing) gets a $20 gift card to Barnes and Noble. Winner announced on Friday, April 20th.

For me, deciding to use a pseudonym is about boundaries. It allows me to maintain a certain amount of privacy while venturing into cyberspace, for example. I'm proud of what I write, but I'd like to keep some personal space. It's also because I've published in a nonfiction arena, and I'm not sure the two worlds mesh. Finally it gives me a chance to become someone entirely different and exotic. It's fun to be India Carolina.

I chose my pseudonym to honor my maternal grandmother. This was her name first.

To enter my contest, tell me why you would or wouldn't use a pseudonym. If you have one, tell me why you chose it.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT CONTESTS?

Can't live with 'em...or can we?

I've had some great experiences with writing contests. Take Avon's FanLit. I was fortunate enough to final twice, but came away with a much better prize than a Fox Development Deal. No lie. I won a community of talented and supportive writers who have helped me hone my craft. And because of Fanlit and other contests, I've got something actually related to romance writing to put in my query letters. That's the good news.

The bad news of course is that in any contest, you may have to endure snarky, sometimes devastating comments from well-meaning and not so well-meaning judges. On balance, however, I think the contests I've entered were well worth taking a few blows to my ego.

Ego. That's the main problem with contests. Contests wreak all kinds of havoc with your ego. You tell yourself you enter for the feedback. Stop lying to yourself!! That's like a guy saying he reads playboy for the articles. Even if it's true, no one buys it. While you may be fortunate enough to receive helpful feedback on your manuscript, there are many more reliable sources for criticism. Okay I'm expecting to take a lot of flack for the above statement, so let me have it.

You enter contests to WIN and to further your career. Or to final. Which in the case of most RWA sponsored contests translates to a win because your work winds up on an editor's or agent's desk. And this is a fabulous reason to enter. For most of us unpublished, unagented, aspiring authors RWA sponsored contests may be the only way to get our manuscript in front of an editor.

So I say enter, enter, enter. But remember your goal is to score an editor read, maybe get some useful comments. Never use a contest to validate your worth as a writer.

Never use a contest to validate your worth as a writer. I think that bears repeating.

I'd love to hear your opinion on writing contests.