The last weekend of the month has rolled round again and it is time for Kirsten to give us her monthly round-up of what has happened in her writing life these past few weeks. Over to you, Kirsten!
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Despatches from the Querying Trenches October
The motto for this month’s missive is ‘be careful what you wish for’!
Two days after bemoaning the lack of response from agents in last month’s column, I received a rejection. It was from an American agent I had met though one of those twitter pitch contests. It was a very nice rejection and she had gone to the trouble of giving me feedback on what could be strengthened - she thinks there is too much dialogue - for which I am very grateful.
But a rejection nonetheless. h I’m still waiting to hear back from the five UK agents who have the full but, of course, they currently have their hands full with the Frankfurt Book Fair so I think I will need to bite my nails a while longer. While I wait, I have sent the manuscript to the wonderful Alison May for a critique. (Alison offered a very generous full manuscript critique in the wonderful Authors for Grenfell initiative and I was one of the successful bidders.)
Meanwhile, it’s back to basics for me. I started writing my novel because I had a story I was burning to tell and then I fell in love with the whole process of crafting a novel. Recently I’ve been chasing publication - which is quite a different kettle of fish altogether. I’d still love to be published - and I actually enjoy the submissions process - but it can be quite relentless and all-consuming as many of you know. So, this month I’ve decided to go back to having fun with my writing.
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I’m a member of Reading Writers, a fabulous bunch of funny, supportive and wise novelists, poets, playwrights, journalists and short story writers – some published, some not (yet). I really love their meetings but I’d always decided I was too busy to enter their competitions. I was too busy chasing publication to stop, take a breath and try something different. This month I entered a short story called Sunday Lunch into their Autumn Competition and it came second. I know!! Believe me, it’s been such a boost. My first writing award and it feels fantastic.
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The other thing I’ve decided to do is to have a bash at NaNoWriMo starting next week. This will be a first for me and I am really excited. I am going to go hell for leather and try to finish the first draft of my second novel which currently stands at 23k words. To be honest, if I even get to 50k, I will be thrilled. I’m really up for this. Who’s going to join me? I’m writing as Curly Wurly and I would love to buddy up.
So that’s a very quick round up of my October writing life. In ‘real life’, I’ve been working and accompanying my son on uni visits. I LOVE uni visits … I really want to enrol at them all (but maybe not to do computer science …) What have you guys been up to this month?
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Comments (33)
Wow - congratulations on your own very own Nano - or Nano and a half in your case. I'm really impressed you've done it on your own without others to spur you on and brilliant that you now have a complete first draft. I'm assuming this is Book 2 - or is it a rewrite of Flygirl?
I thoroughly agree with you that it's important to get the Big Idea down - 'don't get it right, get it written'! I spent ages with my first book trying to perfect things as I went along - hours faffing with passages that never even made it into the final cut of the book. I'm now a real convert to having at least a bit of a plan, and getting the bare bones in place before editing.
Can we work like this all the time? Not sure it's sustainable but I do agree we need to be doing it (much) more often than one month a year if we want to make a go of this writing thing.
Congratulations again and really looking forward to seeing you for lunch next week in Oxford xxxx
In reply to Kirsten's twitter at me (and the previous post), I love NanoWriMo because it makes me focus. It becomes the most important and urgent thing I do each day. And writing IS the most important and urgent thing I do each day (apart from daily life, of course ...)
However I am not doing NaNo this November because I did my own sprint over 6 weeks in September/October. After returning from the Writers' Conference with the astounding realisation that a first draft could be 45 - 50k, I sat down and wrote it. HUZZAH. I now feel that this tight and concentrated burst of writing down the BIG IDEA is so much better than wandering around the houses for months on end. Too much flailing about, repetition and diving down rabbit holes.
This next 6/7 weeks will be all about finding out how much I've got and where I need to fill in. (I work in 6/7 weeks rhythms to coincide with school terms.) However I still need a graph to complete ... or the drum beat goes away ... and I've split all my story lines down and need to finish so many a week to have a full draft by 15th December. It's my own bespoke NaNo all along. :)
The more I think about it, the more I realise I need to do this ALL THE TIME not just one month of the year if I am ever going to produce a writing career. Anyone else feels the same way?
Vanessa x
Lovely to hear from you and thank you for all your support. I hope you had a great trip. Are you doing NaNo this year? xx
It is interesting to hear what's been going on for you. Well done, once more, on your prize for your writing. As I have known since the very beginning of our friendship, you ARE a writer. So great it has been recognised.
It must be a real roller-coaster ride when you start the journey of writing a book of any kind. Excellent that someone has been kind enough to comment on possible improvements on your novel writing style, in your first attempt on a novel. I hope that proves useful the novel you are currently working on. Keep going, lady! And you are still waiting to hear from UK publishing houses. Fingers crossed for that. I am thinking of you and sending positive wring vibes your way.
It must be interesting visiting universities when it is for your children and not for you.It must bring back memories too.
Look forward to your post next month. Happy Halloween!
Jane x
Really looking forward to supporting each other during Nano this year - lets both get the first draft of our second novel written!! xx
And massive congratulations on your first writing award! That's fabulous!
Be delighted the agent gave you feedback! I've heard it's not usually the norm at all!
Good luck with NaNo! I started it last year with about 25k written of a story I'd started years before. I had toyed with trying to forget it, but it wouldn't let me go, and in the end, I used NaNo to push it forwards and published the finished version this summer. You can do it!!!
Hi Susanna - happy to be a buddy. Will need to check my account still works as it's three years since I last did it. Am in Warrington this weekend decorating my son''s house so will see to it tomorrow night.
I need to go back to my Nano account and make sure it is still working - I'm there as Holly Day (quite appropriate as we've just come back from an amazing tour of South Africa) and would love to buddy up. I'm embarking on a rewrite of The Bad News Agency and on advice from Debi I'm just going to enjoy seeing where my characters take me!