The Story Behind the Story

The best part of participation in writing contests is the chance to get to know other writers--like the wonderful Brenda Drake who organizes Pitch Wars every year. This year, I had the good fortune to be chosen as a Pitch Wars Mentee by Eden Plantz, who's been helping me whip my manuscript into shape. A big thank you to both Brenda and Eden.

As a 2014 Pitch Wars Mentee, I’ve enjoyed being part of one of the most supportive groups I’ve ever experienced. One among our ranks started a Facebook group for all the Mentees and Alternates where we’ve joined to celebrate, commiserate, and simply be community. Springing from one in that creative bunch was the idea for a blog hop featuring why we wrote our Pitch Wars novel. 

My manuscript, FRAMED, is a tale of starry-eyed dreamers who lose sight of their goals and themselves while chasing fame, an indictment of the spin used in news and social media to build, protect, or destroy image—no matter the cost. 

This story, however, is far different from the original premise. After spending three years on manuscripts built around one set of characters (something I’d been advised against multiple times), I wondered if I could tell another story. Truthfully, focusing on those novels was productive—it was a period of honing my craft, of chipping away at those million words they say it takes to become a proficient writer. But with completion of my first manuscript and its sequels, the inside of my head became too quiet. Could I write outside that world? The fear was real. What if that’s all I had in me?

FRAMED was the startling answer. Within days of posing that question, a story bloomed, triggered by a news report about a celebrity stalker and how she’d taken to social media to defend herself then disappeared. “What if?” questions rose around the news item, filling my head with ideas. I've long been fascinated by "spin" (maybe a result of my days as a corporate lobbyist); and with the advent of social media, spin has been taken to new levels. Since I'm a sucker for love stories involving unlikely pairs in untenable situations, I couldn't resist the obstacle-rich, behind-the-scenes world of celebrity fame as a setting. Unlike my other story ideas, this one came to me in a rush from start to finish with intricate subplots spiraling out from the main plot. After committing it all to paper, all six single-spaced pages of details, I felt like I’d been hit by a Mack truck. But I had my answer. And the best part, it was a story with characters and setting so different from my other manuscripts it gave me confidence and renewed belief in myself as a writer.

It was six months before I pulled out those notes and started writing. Of course, the characters had their own ideas about how the tale should be told, and I allowed them that; so there were plenty of surprises along the way. But that’s part of the fun of a first draft—discovering things along with the characters. I’m happy to say, I have another story brewing, and it, too, is a whole new world to explore. I can’t wait to get started on the next one!


Be sure and visit the other participating Blogs: 

Carleen Karanovic: HOPE ON A FEATHER

Heather Truett: RENASCENCE

TracieMartin: WILD IS THE WIND

Rachel Sarah: RULES FOR RUNNING AWAY

Amanda Rawson Hill: GRIMM AND BEAR IT

Charlotte Gruber: CODE OF SILENCE

Kip Wilson: THE MOST DAZZLING GIRL IN BERLIN

Mary Ann Nicholson: CALAMITY

Nikki Roberti: THE TRUTH ABOUT TWO-SHOES

Anna Patel: EXODUS

K. A. Reynolds: LE CIRQUE DU LITERATI

Susan Crispell: WISHES TO NOWHERE

Ron Walters: THE GOLEM INITIATIVE

Rosalyn Eves: THE BLOOD ROSE REBELLION

Ashley Poston: HEART OF IRON

Mara Rutherford: WINTERSOUL

Janet Walden-West: DAMNED IF SHE DO

Kazul Wolf: SUMMER THUNDER

S. D. Grimm: WITCHER

Kelli Newby: THORNVAAL

Tara Sim: TIMEKEEPER

Elliah Terry: POCKET FULL OF POPPIES

Alessa Hinlo: THE HONEST THIEF

RachelHorwitz: THE BOOTLEGGER’S BIBLE

Whitney Taylor: DEFINITIONS OF INDEFINABLE THINGS

Lyra Selene: REVERIE

Natalie Williamson: SET IN STONE

Robin Lemke: THE DANCE OF THE PALMS

Stephanie Herman: CLIFF WITH NO EDGE

Shannon Cooley: A FROG, A WHISTLE, AND A VIAL OF SAND

Ruth Anne Snow: THE GIRLS OF MARCH

Elizabeth Dimit: PHOEBE FRANZ'S GUIDE TO PASSPORTS, PAGEANTS, & PARENTAL DISASTERS

Gwen C. Katz: AMONG THE RED STARS

Jennifer Hawkins: FALSE START

Kelly DeVos: THE WHITE LEHUA

Gina Denny: SANDS OF IMMORTALITY

Natasha M. Heck: FOLLOW THE MOON

Esher Hogan: WALKING AFTER MIDNIGHT

D. A. Mages: THE MEMORY OF OBJECTS

Kirsten Squires: INCREPTO

Sarah Cannon: ODDITY

To Query or Not to Query…

…that is the question. How do you know if your manuscript is ready? Or for that matter, if your query is ready? This is more a question for beginners. Experienced writers tend to have a decent handle on when their work is ready. For the rest of us, it’s not so obvious. So how do you know?

The short answer? You don’t.

It takes throwing it out there to see if it’ll stick, but that also means being willing to see it fall gasping in a dead heap on the floor. It means enduring rejection and powering through. And no matter how many beta readers and critique partners you have weighing in, or contest wins and finals you have under your belt, there’s still a chance neither your query nor your manuscript is quite there yet. Once again, the only way to know is to suffer rejection and keep writing and honing your craft. You start getting requests from your queries—success! No, wait—don’t get excited. That’s just one hurdle on your way to more rejection on the partial and full manuscript. It’s a process, so get used to it and learn from it.

Move on. Keep writing. Keep learning. Write new things. And if you still believe in that first manuscript, by all means, go back and start over if necessary. That’s what I chose to do a few months back. There’s something valid in that adage of writing a million bad words. Something clicked for me in the last year, and I knew I was ready to tackle that first manuscript and do whatever it took, even if it meant gutting it and starting over. My first step was to seek the help of someone whose abilities I trust, the tough-minded and honest-to-a-fault Charissa Weaks. We examined the manuscript to determine why my full requests were not netting representation. Was the manuscript worth salvaging?

The conclusion was yes, but it would mean a total rewrite and restructuring that would upend my story and turn it inside out. I’ve now completed the newly retitled manuscript, and it is a very different story, far superior to the original. Will it experience rejection? Of course. But it stands a far better chance of acceptance now than before. And in the process, I’ve learned a great deal that will serve me well going forward.     

My participation in my first Pitch Wars is what pushed me to contemplate rejection once more. Pitch Wars is a great contest organized by Brenda Drake that I discovered via Twitter. I submitted my new query and first five pages to four mentors, and luckily, I had one request more pages. Now whether that translates into a mentor choosing me as their “mentee” or alternate is a pretty long shot—but that’s okay. I learned something valuable along with discovering new writer peeps. My new query and first pages work, and it’s time to jump back into querying.

Will I get rejected this time? Of course.

But I also might find someone who will love it and want it.  

It’s all part of the process.

UPDATE: About two hours after I posted this, I learned I didn't make the Pitch Wars cut. Later, my mentor informed me I made her short list. She shared very kind words that boosted my confidence, including it was a tough choice. Rejection and Success! And there was more good news: my critique partner was chosen as a Mentee!

Special congratulations to Paula J. Garner, who made the cut with PHANTOM LIMBS. Congrats Paula!!

To Fear of Heights and Firing Pitches

For every writer, the day comes when you must step up to the mound and pitch. For me, that day came a couple of weeks ago. I equate it to climbing scaffolding when I do decorative work on those multi-storied ceilings for my "day job." Since I have a deathly fear of heights, it’s not something I relish. The fact I'm willing to work on a ceiling over a three-story stairwell, if necessary, is a testament to how much I enjoy my work and seeing the finished product. So up I go and never look down. 

That’s what I did that day—took a deep breath and never looked down. Of course, it helped getting a personal pep talk from the great C. J. Redwine the night before. Redwine, author of Defiance, wrote one of the best books available on querying. I highly recommend Query: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started, Get Noticed, and Get Signed. She reminded me of her formula outlined in the book: A must do B to avoid or accomplish C, but D is a huge problem. Armed with that reminder, I went home and tightened my pitch to a one-minute spiel. It worked beautifully, giving the editor plenty of time to ask questions. At least I think it worked. The pitch netted two full requests. So thank you, C. J.!