Metaphorically Speaking

Metaphor

–noun

1.

a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance

I've been reading On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner, something I probably should have done months ago, but hey, better late than never.  A specific passage caught my eye this morning and it completely explained why I love reading books by Jonathan Tropper.  (Warning - his books are definitely rated "R" - don't want anyone rushing out to read his work, only to be offended by my recommendation.)

The eloquent Mr. Gardner says,

The writer sensitive to language finds his own metaphors, not simply because he has been taught to avoid cliches but because he enjoys finding an exact and vivid metaphor, one never before thought of, so far as he knows.

I found that as my own story came together and the voice shined through the words, I came to appreciate the occasional metaphors - how Hallie would compare things when explaining how she felt.  Here's a passage from ILYU -

I pulled one of his t-shirts over my head and made my way to the kitchen, the sunlight pouncing on me like a cat through each window, hunting me down to chide at my alcoholic indiscretion the night before.

How many of you enjoy using metaphors?  Do you find them hard to write, or do they come easily?  I thought I'd give people the opportunity to share lines from their WiPs, so if you'd like to, feel free to do so in the comments section.

Also, speaking of works in progress, Suzette Saxton and Bethany Wiggins over at Shooting Stars have a contest going on until the 28th of this month.  The winner receives two first-five page critiques from none other than Suzette and Bethany themselves!  So if you'd like two more pair of eyes to check out your work and give you feedback, head on over there and enter the contest!

Happy Monday!

Letting Go of Your Writing

Sometimes you just have to let go.  It's hard to do that, especially with what you've worked on the most, devoted so much time to, held on with all your might, tried to save.  I'd read fellow authors say that very thing and thought they were crazy.  Don't let go, make it work!  You're a writer, don't give up!  

Now, I know exactly what they meant.  A part in ILYU was holding up the flow.  No matter how hard I tried, how much I cut or re-wrote, nothing could save it.  I felt as though it was vital to the overall story, that taking it out wouldn't set up the feeling later on.  But...

I had to cut it.  And the relief I felt when going from four pages to one was great.  Never thought I'd say that about something that sucked up so much of my time.  

I've printed out and let go of my final draft.  It's time to start querying, to put ILYU into the agents' hands.  I know, without a doubt, I'm nearing the end.  I can see the finish line.  I want to sprint forward and break it, but can't.  

And so, I have to let go again, to loosen my grip, leave it in the agents' hands, not mine.  These lessons keep falling right into my lap.

Hiatus

hi⋅a⋅tus

 

–noun, plural -tus⋅es, -tus.

1.	a break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc.

I'm on hiatus.  I've pulled myself away from the internet, though I'm not sure for how long.  Initially I'd thought a week would be long enough get my thoughts together, fix my editorial issues, ect.  But here I am a week later, and I don't feel a whole lot better off than I was seven days ago.

Last week started off great.  On Monday I took all of the wonderful advice my blogging friends gave me to heart, and sat down with Hallie, my main character.  The two of us had a nice, long talk, and she told me how she felt, what she saw, the things that went through her mind.  I discovered a new way to open ILYU, and though it may not work in the long run, I'm quite satisfied for the time being.  

I was able to get quite a bit accomplished until Wednesday night, and really feel as though I've got Hallie's voice the way I want it.  (That and the new beginning are the two main accomplishments I am proud of.)  But then, after spending endless hours cutting, pasting, deleting, typing, re-typing, and doing exactly what that quote says, something along the lines of "This morning I took out a comma, and tonight I put it back" (I know the quote, I've tweeted it, but I don't have time to look it up right now), my mind went on hiatus too.  No matter how hard I tried on Thursday or Friday, my thinker was done, worn out, finished.  I was very disappointed in myself, to say the least. Even yesterday afternoon, after finishing a book that wasn't at all how I thought it would be, I figured, "Hey, perfect. Lesson learned - don't do that with your WiP." but when I sat down to work, the screen felt like one of those hypnotizing swirling things going round and round while someone said "You are getting sleepy..." and I couldn't focus.

So anyway, to get to the point...  Staying away from my favorite sites, twitter, blogger and facebook, mainly, taught me one thing.  Actually, I take that back, it taught me two things.  The first thing I learned (or was reminded of, actually - this wasn't really a surprise to me at all) was that my time management sucks.  I realize I'm not the first one to say this, but the whole writing/platform thing is very time consuming.  I keep having to remind myself that though a platform is necessary, it's no use if there's nothing to platform.  Which means that the WiP is numero uno, and the platform thing comes after that.  Wayyyyyy after that.  Like my dessert to reward myself for getting everything else done first.

The second thing I learned was that I miss being on those sites, talking with people, seeing what is going on with everyone.  You all mean more to me than you will ever know - this internetal (yes, just made that up) tie to other writers out there is the lifeline that keeps me going day after day.  (I would say I miss my Bejeweled, but that would be lying, because the one thing I did allow myself to do every night, after the kids had been fed and my eyes burned so bad that I wanted to gouge them out of the sockets, and brain was so mushy I could barely form whole sentences, much less get them to leave my mouth, was a few games of Bejeweled.  It didn't require words, or commas, or thoughts, really.  I used it as my wind-down, my way to relax after trying to think all day long.  Oh and not that I'm bragging or anything, but I do have a pretty decent score. Hee hee.)  I want to thank you all for your advice, not only as comments on my blog, but as posts on your own sites, blogs, twitter, ect.  Like many readers I don't always have the time to acknowledge your posts, but they mean more than you'll ever know. 

So I'm still on hiatus.  This week is going to be crazy anyway, between the kid's birthday tomorrow and Valentine's Day and everything else.  But next week I'm going to resurface, slowly, and with purpose, and hopefully come back with much work accomplished and lots of great quips and advice to tweet again.

Interpreting a Book Cover

If I fall into the "normal" writer category (and I'm pretending that I do, so please don't burst my clueless bubble here), then I won't be alone in saying we picture what our eventual cover will look like long before reach the point of publication.  (I will get there, eventually! Positive thinking!)  

Each book cover is different.  Some have a random object or objects (with a meaning that may or may not make sense once you've read the book), 

others have a picture of the main location of the story,

and some have pictures that make you curious as to what part the cover plays in the plot.

The picture I have in mind for mine (which may change as time goes on) is something in my story, but not something that would stand out as particularly important unless a person knew what I'll Love You Until was about.

I've imagined what it should look like for months now, and have spent TONS of time looking all over the internet for *just* the right one, but I've yet to find anything close to what I see in my head. 

Anyway, here it is... kinda... minus a few specific details of the swing and its surroundings (I realize it's horizontal - and am not fond of the heart cutout, either). 

It's so exciting to think about the possibility of a similar cover someday. =)

How do you see your cover?  Is it an illustration?  A photograph?  Does it connect to a specific event, or mean something only the reader would understand?  I'd love to hear your creative ideas!

(If you like to look at book covers for research, entertainment or both, check out The Book Design Review  for many diverse cover designs.  Though Joseph Sullivan has decided to no longer post, the blog is still up.)

Word Cloud

I don't usually post on Saturdays, but I had to share this with everyone. I'm sure some of you have heard of the *awesome* tool called "word cloud" on http://www.wordle.net. For those of you who haven't, the website takes whatever group of words you supply and makes a cloud of sorts with those words. Or in the website's own words:

Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.

Wordle is a great tool to use when you want to see which words are being used too often. I've seen a few people post their word clouds on blogs and whatnot, and have always wanted to do it. So last night I sat down while the girls were watching the Disney Channel and decided to check it out.

At first I wasn't sure which part of I'll Love You Until to use. I skimmed through a few chapters, and after a minute or so I settled on the main event, the event that's the whole point of the story, really. I copied those words, pasted them onto the box on the website, and waited. After a few seconds, the word cloud popped up on my screen.

Then I cried. Cried!!! I know! I was just as shocked as you are! I'm not one to cry - not ever. I mean sure, when terrible things happen, I do cry a bit (my heart isn't made of stone, people!), but the only person allowed to see me cry is my husband. (I'm not sure why I'm like that.) Not much gets to me, things the kids do, looking back on when they were young, nothing. I'm just not emotional like that.

So to stare at a computer screen, at this cloud holding MY words in random order, words I'd written from my heart, to see such an important part of the story displayed so beautifully, well I can't explain it. The perfect words were in the perfect places in perfect sizes.

It was my inspiration to keep going. No matter how many more times I have to hit the "delete" button, no matter how many times I want to bang my head on my desk, no matter how many times the voice in my head tells me I'm wasting my time. Those words showed how I felt when I wrote that event. The generator got rid of the small, unimportant words, and showed what my story was about. And when I'm sitting here at my desk feeling frustrated, I'm going to look at the wall, at these words, and they're going to be a reminder of why I started this whole thing in the first place.

You're probably wanting to know if I'm going to share that word cloud with you. Well my answer is, I can't. I would love to, really I would (because it's so beautiful, in my opinion at least) but if I did, the story would be ruined. It would be like grabbing a new book, not reading a word and then skipping to 3/4 of the way through and reading that part. I hate to be a killjoy but it's just not possible. I can, however, share a different part of I'll Love You Until. A part where Hallie Barnes and her husband are having a bit of conflict. It's not even remotely as "personal" to me, and I'm sure you will be able to tell the words are pretty general.

So here it is. Currently Chapter 14, three chapters before the part I can't show you;)

I thought it was neat to see the main character's names. Oh and remember how I mentioned using the word "just" too often a post or so ago? Well there's the proof, right there. A big ol' "just" eyesore.

Anyway. I had to share my experience with you all. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to find the tape so I can stick this "secret" word cloud right here next to my computer screen. =)

A resolute New Year's resolution

2010 is only a few days away.  As I finish packing away the last of the Christmas decorations and organize piles of new gifts our family has accumulated over the past few days, I'm trying to put my finger on just what exactly this year's resolution is going to be.

For me, the same few things come to mind each December as the year draws to a close. I need to start working out again.  It wouldn't hurt to lose a few pounds.  Maybe I should resolve to be more organized.  Or maybe I need to practice letting things slide once in a while and occasionally just go with the flow.   Do more activities with the kids.  Plan more outings with Lovemuffin, things we can do as just the two of us.

The only thing I know for sure as I look into the future, is that I want the next step in this whole writing process to begin.  I'm anxious, anticipating the results from editing, wishing I knew someone else - a non-partial person who could sit back and sift through my work with unbiased eyes and tell me that I'm either 1) truly ready to start querying or 2) still need to fine tune a few things - at this point either one  would be fine with me, because it would mean progress, a push in the right direction.

But I don't have that - someone I can sit down with and talk to, or ask questions.  (Not locally anyway.)  I'm on my own here - learning from what I can find in books and online, learning by reading work of other authors - deciding for myself what I do and don't like in their writing, then comparing it to my own voice and my own work, respectively.  

I'm pretty close to the timeline I set a couple of months ago and this is right where I wanted to be.  So I'm thinking the best resolution for 2010 would be to continue moving forward.  To push myself, keep the goals I've assigned to this project, set dates (not set in concrete, but dates nonetheless) to keep me going in the right direction.  

These next few months might possibly keep or take away my sanity.  But I'm going to be resolute - I'm not going to give up, no matter how discouraged I get.  Because it's just like Dorrie (my favorite character in Finding Nemo) says - "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...what do we do? We swim!"  And I'm going to do just that.  I'm going to swim along (even if it's upstream and difficult or frustrating at times), and push myself until I get to the next step, then the next one, and so on.  I resolve to push forward and give this my all - to take a break when I get tired, ask for support when I need it, and ultimately, in a few months, (hopefully) have something new to report regarding "I'll Love You Until". 

In the meantime, I plan to continue working on two new ideas that have been in my head (which is what writers are supposed to do, from what I understand - move on to the next project, while waiting on the process of the previous one).  

So there you go.  My resolution for 2010.  What's yours?

How did we get to December?

Hello?  Hello I say… is this thing on?  A-hem.  It’s been so long since I’ve been on here, I thought maybe I’d forgotten how to blog.  Ahhh. It’s all coming back to me now…  (Did anyone else think of Celine and Meatloaf after reading that line?  Cuz I did.  I almost sprang right off my bed – which is where I’m writing this blog – and sang the rest of the verse, but then I reminded myself,  “Priorities, Jessica!  Priorities!”)

 

November has been a busy month for me.  (As if it’s been super slow for everyone else.  I suppose I should have stopped after the word “month”.  Oh well.)  I finished re-editing I’ll Love You Until amidst the busy schedule, and am currently waiting on opinions and edits.   The whole process never fails to frustrate me though – I’d felt content with how everything came together, and was quite happy with the end result.  But as soon as the copies were handed over and I’d promised to sit on the story for a while (giving it a break is an important part of the process – sometimes we can get overzealous and start chopping it to bits, or worse – think adding to it will make the story better when in reality it should have been left well alone), my nerves began to get the best of me again.  What if I just fooling myself? What if they hate it? What if everything I thought made sense was in fact, just the opposite, and no one is going to like it now?   What if…

How many writers out there have felt that way as well?  Laughed or cried as you were writing, and then later thought “Holy crap, what if I’m just losing it?”  I know a lot of us go through different periods of excitement, inspiration, and doubts, but if there are people out there who finish writing their final draft and think, “That was perfect – I rocked it – everyone is going to LOVE this!” please tell me how to master that thinking!  (Or even better, hold a class – I’m sure it would be a sell-out!)  It’s strange how one minute I can be proud of my work and on top of the world, and the next I’m biting fingernails and hoping it is going to be decent, at least.   (Okay I didn’t phrase that right, I am always proud of my work – but at times I worry that I’ll be the only one proud of it.   Just had to clear that up.)

 I’m not as far along on NaNoWriMo as I’d hoped, considering today is the last day of November.  And now for a bit of good news – the pressure has been coming at me full-force to at least try and get a few more words written, and I plan to use that feeling to my advantage and get as much done as possible by the end of the day (no matter how rough of a draft it might be).  I’m almost to ten thousand words – not bad since I just started a few days ago.   (Okay… technically I started at the beginning of the month.  But I got sidetracked editing the final, and well, a few days ago something else came to me, so I kinda started on that instead.  I still have a lot swirling around in my head for They Don’t Make Fur Coats in Camouflage...but this other one is presently taking center stage in my head.)

But enough of what’s been going on in my life – as this month draws to a close and everyone sets their sights on December – decorating, taking family photos, crossing items off our gift lists, and in my case, writing the annual family Christmas letter, I just wanted to wish everyone a wonderful holiday season.  I hope you all get what you want and more out of this time of the year, whether it’s in writing or reading, spending time with your family, whatever.  

I’m going to try to do something this month, as I know I need to keep on blogging, but will be pretty busy.  Once a week I’m going to ask a question that I would love to get everyone's input.  And then I’m not sure what else I’ll do.  Maybe it’ll be a surprise. Yes, that’s right, of course – a surprise.  (I planned it that way all along.)

 

Happy December, my readers!

November "To Do" List

I can't believe we're almost in November. This year has gone by faster than any other year.  (I'm sure it's my age -- there, I said it...thought I'd save you all some time!)  In two short months we will be in 2010. Where did the last ten months go?

As if I don't have enough on my plate already, I've decided to participate in NaNoWriMo (click on the link to learn more about it) this year.  That is the main thing on my November "To Do" list.  For those of you who aren't familiar with National November Writing Month, it's actually a huge deal out there in the literary (and internet) world.  It's basically a 30 day marathon for writers to try and get at least 50,000 words written in that designated amount of time.  Not a small feat.  

My reason for doing NaNoWriMo is this: there's another story in my head that has been driving me crazy.  I have a bit of work left to do on I'll Love You Until (Am I procrastinating, you ask?  No. Well maybe a little bit. But not really.), so I figured I'd take advantage of NaNoWriMo (though I doubt I'll make it even close to 50,000 words, but at least this way I can get everything written down and stored in one place).  Plus it's a fun contest and there's a large chance I will meet more writers in my area, so why not try it, right?  The contest rules are simple.  If you reach 50,000 words by the end of the month, you're a winner. Tah-dah!  

Are you all at least a teeny bit curious about the other story I have brewing? (Well even if you aren't, I'm still going to give you the title. But that's it. Unless you offer me chocolate or coffee, in which case, I just might not be able to control myself and hopefully I'll be able to keep from blurting out the ending.  Oh wait -- I don't know the ending yet -- whew! I'm safe!)  It's called "They Don't Make Fur Coats in Camouflage". Quite catchy, don't you think?  (I can totally hear it now, people saying that in coffee shops and book stores and texting "TDMFCIC" on their phones, and then everybody busting up about the awesome inside joke that *yours truly* started and...okay sorry about that... I'm getting a little ahead of myself.) 

So NaNoWriMo is the first item on my agenda.  The second is getting "I'll Love You Until" polished and ready for one last critique before the final editing process.  And then queries! Hopefully the step of querying agents will begin before the first of the year.  That's my goal anyway.

My last "To Do" item is Christmas shopping. I love Christmas. It's my favorite time of year. Giving to friends, family and others is so fun and exciting.  Having my shopping completely done before the first of December would be awesome. We'll see. 

What is on your November agenda?  How many of you are participating in NaNoWriMo, and if so, what is the reason?  Is it your first time, or are you a pro already?  Is there anyone out there having books published around the end of the year or beginning of next year?  I'm pouring some virtual coffee as I type this and would love to hear what everyone else has on their November plates.  (Well not really, don't try to visualize that because obviously it won't work. I may be a mother of three, but I can't do the impossible.)  So anyway, come on over and spill it! (Your latest news, not your coffee!)  

You asked, I answered...

To those of you who asked questions after my "Interrogation" post, thank you!  I'm going to jump right into the answers, so without any further ado...

Anita asked if one of my characters is ill.  The answer is no. Not a single ill character in the book. Wow.  They must use a lot of sanitizer.

Candee asked which one of the characters most resembles me and why.  Well, Hallie Barnes, the MC (main character) is definitely the most like me.  She's my age, she has children, and her personality is a bit like mine as well.  I've found that I write best about what I know, and I know a lot about those things! =) She's also different in a few ways as well, the main one being that the big issues she deals with have never happened to me personally.

Betsi wanted to know if the timeline in the book is longer than a year.  And the answer is...no.  It's actually just a few months' time.  There's a little bit of backstory which goes back a few years, but the actual time frame only goes through about three seasons.  She also wanted to know if there were any lemurs.  I hadn't thought of that, but there could be a possibility!;)

Bethany asked a question, and I actually spoke about the answer quite a bit in my second post here on blogger. But I'm going to re-tell it anyway.  One night last May, a few weeks before school got out for summer break, I was lying in bed thinking as usual, while trying to fall asleep.  A scene suddenly popped in my mind, where my (now) MC and another person were in the middle of a very awkward situation.  I could see the looks on their faces, understand what was going through my MC's head, and in the next few days things just evolved from there. I had to figure out who rest of the characters were going to be, and once I did that, the story line just sort of began to come together.  Of course, throughout this process a lot has been modified (plot-wise) for flow purposes, but not a thing has changed about the scene that sparked me into writing in the first place.  I've always enjoyed writing, it's definitely one of my strong suits, so there really wasn't a question of "if" I could do it in my mind, it was more like "how" was I going to do it.

What have I learned about myself through this, Sierra?  I think I've learned that though some things end up being harder to do than we initially thought, it doesn't make them not worth doing.  I knew going into this that there would be a lot of hard work, but obviously plots and hooks and showing versus telling and all of the other things we have to incorporate sometimes get in the way of the "dream" part of writing and require a lot of time and effort (as most first time and even seasoned writers would probably agree).  But I know I can do it.  I can follow through, I can work hard and not quit, and I can use any frustrations I have and turn them into inspiration. I've also learned that I have some great friends that I've met via the internet who continue to help me when the going gets tough.

The "what have I learned about what I want in life" question, at this point, is an easy answer.  Along with being a good, involved mother and wife, I want to share this story (and any future stories I write) with others.  I want to entertain my readers -- to make them laugh,  make them cry,  make them not want to put the book down, and I want to hopefully have them sit back after reading the book feeling better to have read it.   And of course I want to be known for my writing, if I'm being honest.  But that option is still quite a ways away.

So there you go, the answers to your questions about my WiP.  And again, thanks so much for asking!

Interrogation

It has been a while since I've said a whole lot about my WiP from an informative point of view.  I mean sure,  I'm constantly tweeting or blogging updates about the writing process -- my word count, my frustrations, and most recently, the tools I use to keep me going.

But it just occurred to me that I haven't said a whole lot lately about the story itself.  Occasionally people are considerate enough to ask how my work is going, and it's hard to say a whole lot in answer to that question.  One reason I find difficulty with that specific question is because when one writes, things are constantly changing.  Characters evolve, scenes appear (and then disappear), dialogue emerges.  (Lately I've been hacking away at all of my unnecessary adverbs.  Oh how it pains me to let them go.  But I have to...I know I do.)  Plus, as writers, we tend to treat our current WiP as our baby.  We're very protective of everything about them and don't want too much to get out before everything is done exactly how we want it.  Not to mention, if the entire story was already out there, who in the world would be interested in buying the book when we (hopefully) get it published?

So after explaining all of that, the reason for the title of this post.  I wanted to give my friends, Romans, countrymen  -- oops, sorry, got a little carried away there, anyone want to tell me the line that follows? -- a little peek into my story, the story that's taken up so much of my time, so much space in my mind, so much of my emotions. (Has anyone noticed that I tend to do things in threes?  I noticed that recently in my writing -- I'm constantly explaining things in groups of threes. Odd.)

I thought I'd do something a little different to give everyone a bit of dirt on the storyline.  It's not a contest per se, but let's just pretend it is one, because that will make it more fun. *flashes a cheesy grin* In the comments section of this post, feel free to ask me anything you would like to know about "I'll Love You Until", and in three days I'm going to answer five of those questions.  (Right now my brain is warning me that I may not even get ASKED five questions...but I'm totally ignoring my brain.)  Keep in mind that I'm obviously not going to answer things like "What happens in the end?"  or, well, for some reason that's the only question I can think of that I won't answer at the moment.  But I'm not going to give anything away that would ruin my teeny-tiny chances of getting my novel out "there".  So I'm sorry if that just made all of you reach for your mouse to hit the "exit" button...but this is my un-contest, and those are my rules.  I'm going to have to reserve the right to choose which questions to answer, though hopefully this will be a fun experience that will leave you all wanting to know more. *throws head back and lets out an evil laugh*

Well what are you waiting for, people? Ask away!

To write or not to write...a sequel or a series

A couple of weeks ago it hit me - I knew what I would write when this novel is done - and immediately I began scribbling  in another journal like a madman.

To those outside the writing world, that may sound incredibly strange.  ("Once this is done? As in, you're already doing another one?  And the first one...isn't...done?")   But I have a feeling a pretty  decent group of writers out there are doing the same thing as I.

On a totally different subject (that actually does tie in quite well, come to think of it - hey, it's getting late, I'm not thinking rationally and haven't had coffee in 8 hours now, so you can't hold it against me) I finished reading Belong To Me this evening. And, at the very end of the book, in a letter from the author, to be exact, I read that Belong to Me was a sequel.  

What?  I thought to myself.  I just read this for two days, and there's a whole entire other book before this one? Humph!  ('Course my next thought was, "Well I have to get that one right now!") 

After I tweeted about it and then bitterly complained to my husband  that I had just read a sequel and missed out on who-knows-what since I had yet to read the first one, I wondered -

1)   How many writers out there do the same thing?  (Start off from the very beginning knowing they are writing a series, or know from the start that they will be writing a sequel)

2)  How common is it for writers to have sequels or series' in their minds as they are writing their first novel? 

I had mentioned my idea (of the "next" one) to Lovemuffin, giddy and proud of myself - to which he had replied (with his usual mathematical wisdom - everything is facts, facts, facts) "Well how to you know anyone will want to read from _____'s point of view?" (The noun has been blanked to protect the innocent. Or not yet fully written, as the case may be.)

To be honest, I had actually pushed the idea aside until tonight.  I do, after all, have quite a bit of work ahead of me for I'll Love You Until yet, anyway - but reading Marisa de los Santos' little note at the end told me that maybe the next one I had in mind will work, after all.  

Just had to ask those questions and quickly share the little dose of enlightenment I went through about an hour ago. =)

Always sharing my love of life, writing and coffee,

coffeelvnmom (Jessica)

Well it happened.

I knew it was going to eventually, and with everything going on around here, I just didn't make the time I should have to prepare myself better.

A couple of days ago, Lovemuffin and I were hanging out with a friend of his - having a normal conversation about nothing in particular, and then...

He asked what my book was about.

To which I said, and I quote -  "Uh, er...it's about, well, this girl...well without giving too much away...uh...and then..."

DUH.  *insert my head between a rock and a hard place here*

Luckily this guy was a super-nice one, and he had the decency to tell me -  "Well let me know when it comes out..." (which, as all writers know, is such a remote possibility right now anyway - but I am trying my hardest to keep the dream alive!).  That was so nice, right?

But that question got me thinking.  As writers, we're so busy writing and working on queries, researching books and articles online (and of course trying to figure out the perfect synopsis to write up), that sometimes the part of the "book" which actually involves the reader (the very most important part, might I add - and part of the reason for my dream at least - to share my story with others) gets pushed aside for other pressing matters.  

Now obviously I know what I'll Love You Until  is about - I've been writing for months and have thousands upon thousands of words on the computer and on paper.  But I'm wondering how other writers do it.  How much do you all share (without giving the entire plot away - or does that matter to you?).  How long did it take to write/figure out your own personal summary to use when asked this same question? (And while I'm asking questions, do you prefer a nice sweet white mocha...or something a little more plain, like caramel or simply just plain ol' coffee?)

Later that day while talking to Lovemuffin, I laughed at having drawn such a blank, and mentioned that maybe I should just print out the very vague synopsis which has been posted on my blog  ( http://coffeelvnmom.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-name-is-jessica.html ) and memorize it.  (He thought that was a great idea.)  

But I'm still curious to know what everyone else does.  Anyone care to share?  

Always sharing my love of life, writing and coffee -

coffeelvnmom (Jessica)

 PS - If you haven’t taken a stroll over to the **Bookstore Poll** here on my blog, please do - the poll ends in a few days and I could use as many opinions as possible! =)

My Name is Jessica...

I’ve finally gotten to the point in my new venture to where I feel I can share this with all of you.

Some of you may think it’s odd that I didn’t share this sooner - but I was in my world of Hallie - and didn’t want anything to change my perception or view of anything until I was done. (And of course I was nervous as well, let’s face it - everyone is scared of rejection and pessimism - I was giving a large enough dose of that to myself and didn’t think I could handle it from anyone else.)

A couple of weeks into May (and before summer vacation began) I had this spark go off in my brain.  I was lying in bed one night, trying to get to sleep - my mind racing 100 miles an hour as always - and for some reason I just saw a scene in my mind.

The scene wasn’t like my dreams - where I don’t see anyone’s faces but I know who they are regardless - this was different.  

In this scenario everything was crystal clear - faces were obvious and motives made sense and the setting, the background, the voices - everything was in detail.

I fell asleep seeing this - these characters & the emotions across their faces - feeling the way they felt, and even knowing what they wanted.

It wasn’t too far into the following day before I headed downtown to the store and bought myself a journal.

Writing my vision became a major part of my every day life - I was being me, dealing with my children, talking to my friends, going to work, doing the whole chaotic last weeks of school thing, and writing.

I carried my journal wherever I went - to J’s softball practices, to work, in the car - writing down anything and everything that entered my mind.

Lovemuffin was the only person I told (not that it wasn’t obvious after the first few days of coming home to me writing or typing constantly) - and I swore him to absolute secrecy.  I think at the beginning he thought I had lost it.  (I had, of course, just read the Twilight Series for the second time -  and I think he figured I was just excited and trying to do something like that. But I wasn’t.)

But the more I read my ideas to him, the more he got into my story as well.  (I think - though he may just have been being the wonderful husband that he is and was just saying whatever he thought would make me happy.  It had to be confusing for him, since I wrote everything out of order. The poor guy knew the main event before the beginning, ect. But back to the story...)

Before I knew it, I had characters and ideas and conversations - and the pivotal part of the story line figured out.  And for the next month I wrote, and wrote, and wrote.  

When I had arrived at about 35,000 words or so, I decided it was time for some input. 

For those of you who don’t know my mom, she was a secretary for many years, and is a better editor than I am - I inherited my writing skills from her!  (And for those of you who know me well, you know exactly what I mean by that.  Grammar has always been the one thing I know well. Math- whole different story.)   So it was only logical to ask my mom to go over it.  (My mother was also sworn to secrecy.)

Fast forward to now.  I have finally finished writing, for the most part. The book is now at approximately 60,000 words, but by the time I have finished with editing and whatnot I figure it will be closer to 75,000.

I have been researching publishers, agents, and everything else involved in taking the next step in this dream I have to eventually see my book/s on the shelves in a bookstore.  It takes a lot of time and effort. And reading. 

I’m learning more about the business day by day, and most of it is positive information - but of course being a writer is like being a needle in a haystack.  You want to be “found” but you have to find the right people - and then once you find them you have to submit your info to them and basically throw your hands up into the air and wait.  And hope they are interested in your work.  (Let me just say that I am not naive. I understand the percentages. I know how small of a chance I have to get this past where it is right now.  But I am going to try my hardest anyway - to get my info into the right hands and see what happens.  Because this is my dream, and I am going to try my hardest to achieve it.)

Finding the right people is my task at the moment. I’m presently trying to write my query for agents - and dealing with the task of writing the synopsis of my book - a few short paragraphs, or hook; which describes the story line and *hopefully* gets someone interested in representing me.

If you’re still reading this boring blog, I’m sure you have a few questions. Questions about what in the world I am writing (or perhaps what in the world I am thinking).  

As I am barely at the beginning of this entire process, I don’t want to give too much away; but then again, if you are still reading this, you deserve a little information for staying with me so long, right?

So. Here you go.  My first entry into the world regarding this book (aside from a quote I snuck in a few days ago on my fb - the status update which said to turn to page 56 on the book closest to you & write the 5th sentence - hee hee I’m sneaky).  It’s only little bit of info - my generic synopsis, if you will.

Genre: Women’s Fiction

Main Character:  Hallie Barnes 

Synopsis: Hallie Barnes has been followed by a black cloud throughout her adult life.  Though by now she is used to the constant disasters that seem to follow her wherever she goes, none of them have prepared her for what is about to happen. 

I’ll Love You Until is about Hallie’s relationship with Brenden, her husband of ten years - and takes you through a time in her life as she deals with unexpected and even catastrophic events shoved her way - including the sudden, startling arrival of someone from her past, and involuntarily being forced into an unforeseen future.

And there you go. Yes, it’s vague, I know - but it has to be. I can’t very well tell you the entire story line, now can I? 

Now this “secret” is finally off my chest. I can move on and tackle my work knowing that it’s out there and everyone knows it.  Hopefully it sparked some interest. Or questions.  

I already have the next book in mind (the second in a series of 3, hopefully *crosses fingers*) so I would love to hear from everyone about what makes you interested and keeps you reading. Obviously that would be very beneficial to me.

Until next time, my readers-

My name is Jessica...and I am writer.