Just under 93K because. . . I cut 5 pages out of chapter 1. I had to do it. I will get rejected by the agent who has requested material because I didn't go far enough the first time I cut chapter 1. sigh. I got rid of the aunt and uncle and used maybe a bit more than half or so of the material in other places to smooth other the introduction of the aunt and uncle. Much better.
posted by Carolyn @ 7/29/2004 11:14:00 PM Permalink
Well, 93K plus a little. PLUS I think I have my ending issue fixed. Once again, the answer was easy once I shook loose all those stubborn ideas about why things are a certain way. PE has a brother. Toby's gone, poor dead boy, but now PE has a brother so I don't feel so bad about disposing of Toby. Anyway, wrote most of it in today, will have a few fixes in later chapters and some layering. So, I'm hoping when I have time to read through again, it won't suck. I think probably not. I have been told, and I quote, "This rocks!" by someone (another writer) who read the key scenes. But Wednesday, I'll hear from someone who will have read the early pages over which I'm currently freaking. Which is tomorrow. Erk.
posted by Carolyn @ 7/27/2004 09:54:00 PM Permalink
Well, I think I've fixed at least a part of the issue, and as ever, it was simple, but required that my head be on straight. I still need to work on it a bit, and then, ha, ha, write the fix (I only notebooked today). I have been anti-productive today, checking email, doing crosswords, making dinner (real macaroni and cheese) and reading stuff to critique. I mailed off material to the agent who requested it and now I am thinking of going to bed early, but maybe first I'll just work a wee bit on that one chapter where I have to make my fix...
posted by Carolyn @ 7/26/2004 08:48:00 PM Permalink
OK. Still at 92K despite how much ripping, cutting and reordering is going on. I have no idea if this thing hangs together now, but that's because I've been busy fixing things. My main concern at the moment is the ending. I'm freaking about that because my h/h I think spend too much time apart. But the other issue that's creeping in there is the number of complaints from hitting the lists right now about bad judges, that is, judges who gave very low marks etc. And what I heard in response, under all that understandable upset is a lot of writers who are not facing up to the possibility that the judges were right, and, in some cases, writers who seemed to have failed to absorb what I feel is the key to a writer's improvement, namely, that it's about evoking a reaction. If a story is so good that a judge says it must have been plagerized, what is the message to take from that? It's not that some judges perhaps kind of stink. That isn't going to make the recipient more insightful about her writing. What the writer needs to come away with is this: "Hey,that person thinks I'm pretty good@" So, getting around to the reason that freaks me, is I am now worried that I'm paying attention to the wrong things and not attending to what will make me a better writer.
posted by Carolyn @ 7/25/2004 10:22:00 PM Permalink
Well, I think I've fixed the boring part. I ripped out, cut, pasted, re-ordered and gave up some dearly held notions about what was going to happen when. Slightly under 92K. My email query was fruitful, the agent has requested material, but just what I would sent via snail mail anyway, so that needs to get into the mail this weekend. Have not yet been rejected by the last of the 1st bunch. I was on the radio today. Later, when I'm not so tired, I'll see if there's a link to the interview to post. It was fun.
posted by Carolyn @ 7/22/2004 10:18:00 PM Permalink
Well, the whole section after the beginning is boring and it sucks. I can fix it, naturally, but I just hate that. Sigh. I've been reordering things, ripping out parts of chapters and sticking them in other chapters. But the problem right now is that, well, it sucks. The arc isn't right. Sigh.
posted by Carolyn @ 7/21/2004 07:02:00 PM Permalink
Haven't looked at The Heir for some days. Probably a good thing when it comes right down to it. However, I remain in a terrible funk over the agent thing. Sent an email query yesterday and am seriously toying with the idea of sending a proposal to Kate without benefit of an agent. I may do that.
posted by Carolyn @ 7/18/2004 11:27:00 AM Permalink
I have about 92K now. Which is OK. I don't know if it's any good because two more agents rejected me, and they had time to read what I submitted, so naturally, I am completely depressed and dejected. I guess, actually, that I am not so very good at this. Five people think I'm good, (at least they're not relatives) and that's it, but I indications are they were just saying that. Plus tonight is my neice's birthday party and so that means I have to go to my brother's house and pretend I'm not crushed. Sigh.
posted by Carolyn @ 7/15/2004 05:11:00 PM Permalink
91.2K. Just adding and shading and taking care of loose ends. But mostly, I would have to say, this is pretty much done. Not completely, there are still things I need to work on, but the story's there. All I need is an agent to sell it. Interesting thoughts lately about career things. I'll have to check on where I was word count wise when school ended and see how much difference it made. A lot, but my life kind of sucked majorly for quite a while what with the hideous environment at the day job. Frankly, the day job was (is) the problem, not school. If I only had school and writing I would get even more writing done. I have to go to work tomorrow which means I need to go to bed.
posted by Carolyn @ 7/11/2004 10:26:00 PM Permalink
Well, 89K (just barely). I got the major portion of the fix to the new Toby stuff. I think it works pretty well. Tomorrow I may lose some words because there's more to delete, although, the change necessitates some new stuff, so maybe not too much lost word count wise. Straightforward is good.
posted by Carolyn @ 7/09/2004 10:32:00 PM Permalink
Well, the agent I knew would reject me, did so, and so quickly it's hard to imagine my material was read. In fact, I just checked the postmark. I mailed my material on June 27 and the rejection is post-marked June 29th. That would pretty much have to be a rejection on the same day they received it since I am in CA and they are in NY. So, I suspect my query never even got out of the mailroom. They probably have a list of people to reject out of hand -- mine name must be up there at the top -- See this name, fish out the SASE and send the rejection.
posted by Carolyn @ 7/09/2004 08:17:00 PM Permalink
88.7K I actually wasn't going to work on this today, but I was at the gym working on the next project and exercycling when The Heir pretty much intruded and I had to go off and explore an issue that that acutally seemed to have worked when I started it tonight. I moved one late chapter to an early chapter and I think poor Toby is about to become dead and discovered before the story starts. That's a more complex adjustments that I'll need the weekend to fix up. But, things are OK I guess. I keep freaking that it's not as good as I like to think. sigh
posted by Carolyn @ 7/08/2004 10:53:00 PM Permalink
87K. Going along. But there are some boring patches and the ending is far from satisfactory. I'm also getting tired of reading it. So, I am going to work on some contest judging and some critiquing and my Sleath paper. Also, I am coming down with something icky. Yuck.
posted by Carolyn @ 7/04/2004 05:38:00 PM Permalink
86K. Worked on the end. Did a read through. Worked on the end some more. It sucks. Anyway, a lot is really, really really good, so I guess I'm in only a little bit of anguish. But (bad joke coming up) right now it's really a pain in the end. Funny. I don't feel any better. sigh.
posted by Carolyn @ 7/01/2004 10:07:00 PM Permalink
Liz Maverick
Jennifer Ashley
Sandy Schawb
Patti O'Shea
Marjorie M. Liu
Megan Frampton
Kristin Nelson
Miss Snark
Dystel & Goderich
The Rejecter
Evil Editor