Uh-Oh! There's a Problem!

How did this woman's heel break? I don't know. Do I care? Well, I might later, but I don't right now. I'm more concerned with where she's going and how she's going to fix it before she gets there. The rest would be unwanted back story at this point. I'm reading a popular novel right now (I won't mention the name or author) in which the entire first chapter is back story. I'm sorry, but I got bored and almost tossed the book to the side. I persevered, and as it turns out, it's a great book. Had it been written by an unknown, would I have kept reading? I doubt it. My tip for this Tuesday is to eliminate all back story from the first half of your manuscript. If you can't do that, at least eliminate it from the first third. I personally was hesitant about this with my own manuscript, but I finally did it, and guess what... it reads so much better. Some of what I thought was important information turned out to be not so crucial for the reader, and the stuff that was, well, my readers could have figured it out without me telling them. It's one of those pesky little rules, but I get the point. And, unless you are already published, don't risk it. So, read any books with too much back story lately? Written any? Go back and check. You'll be glad you did. Where do you suppose that woman was off to anyway?

It's Like Christmas Around Here!

I mean, really, with the awesome drawing over at The Bookshelf Muse. Angela Ackerman is offering three months worth of mentoring. What could be cooler than that? You can go enter if you want, but it might be a waste of time. Don't get your hopes up or anything, cause I'm going to win, you know? Also, in case you haven't heard, my blogger friend, Tere Kirkland signed with an agent. That's the third one this month! See, I told you it was like Christmas around here. Okay, that's it for Monday's Miscellanea. Anything you'd like to share? Have a great Monday, and tune in tomorrow for Tuesday's Tip.

It's time for a little fluffy inspiration!

Okay, so I was out with my friends from high school last night, and I realized something. We are all at different stages of life. Our night out ended early because of several reasons. One friend had to get home to make sure her seventeen-year-old wasn't up to no good. My other friend had to get home to put her eight-year-old in bed, and I had to get home to help my twelve-year-old study for a test. You see, we are all in different stages of life, yet we all have a common goal: to raise our kids to be the best people they possibly can be. Same holds true with my writing journey. I've made a lot of friends, some will be published soon, some have signed with agents, and some are just starting out. No matter where we are, we all have a common goal: get our work in the hands of readers. My friend with the eight-year-old commented at dinner that she couldn't wait until her kids were older because they were such a pain in the you-know-what, and I have to admit, I got a little teary-eyed. Sometimes, I wish my kids were still little. I'd love to go back and relive that part of my journey. Other times, though, I'm happy to say that I've been there, done that, and I survived. I don't want to look back on my writing journey and view the hard times as a bad thing. I want to look back at every stage as a blessing, as a necessary part of growing stronger. I want to look back and get teary-eyed because that part of my journey is over, but know that I've been there, done that, and survived. So, my point (and you know I always have one) is this: embrace where you are now and soak up everything. You can never go back to this stage of your writing journey. If you don't pay attention, you just might miss something. Okay, now, go and fluff your own feathers, no matter where you are, because, no doubt, it's a good place to be. Have a great weekend!

These Shoes Just Don't Seem Ready

Of course, the person wearing them doesn't seem to notice that they have no toe. I think we writers sometimes fall into the same lack of awareness when it comes to our own work. On Tuesday, I posted about how the hardest lesson I've learned in my journey to publication was that you shouldn't query too soon. So many of you commented something like this: "Yeah, but how do you really know when your work is ready?" Well, I can't answer that, but I can tell you when it isn't ready. Below, you will find my list of the top three reasons not to query yet. (I had it up to 10, but that would have made for a really long post, and you all know how I feel about those.) Anyway, here is how you know you aren't ready to query: #3: It's the first thing you've ever written or even attempted to write, and the version you are about to query is almost identical to your first draft. Don't get me wrong; first novels can be successful, but not first drafts. I could be wrong here, but I doubt that even Stephen King himself submits a first draft for publication. REVISE. REVISE. REVISE. #2: You've never taken a writing course, read a book on the craft, or followed any agent/publisher blogs. A lot is to be said for knowledge. Not even the best athlete goes into a game without training. Practice the craft, learn the business, and then do it all again several times. #1: Your mom, husband, sister, daughter, dog, whatever, thinks your manuscript is the best thing ever written, but no one else has ever laid eyes on it. These people are great, but they are biased and some might even be afraid to be honest with you. Unless you've had a professional editor and/or awesome crit partners read your work, don't query! Okay, so these are my Thursday's Thoughts. I'd love to hear what you think. Do you know when your work is ready? If so, please share. If not, then please tell us how you know when it's not ready.

That's a lot of shoes!

Why try to pick the cutest when someone else already has? Today is my first Wednesday's Website post, and I had a few ideas for ones I'd like to share with you. But, you see, one kept coming to mind because she does such a great job of sharing super helpful links every week. I could never top that. So, without further ado, please go visit Stina Lindenblatt here. And be sure to stop by there every Friday for more helpful links. Her photography tips on other days are pretty cool too. On a secondary topic, my post yesterday seemed to create a lot of buzz. Maybe I should have saved it for Thursday's Thoughts, but never fear, I'll abandon my original subject for tomorrow and address some of your questions instead. I'm no expert, but I'll be sure to tell you my opinion and hope that you will all weigh in as well. What about you? Any good websites to share this week?