Tag: feedback

Some Positive Feedback

~ Meg ~ 27 Comments

Always welcome when you’re struggling or unsure.

I sent the first five pages of my revised first novel to an agent after participating in a Writers Digest webinar. I finally heard back from her late yesterday. Here are her comments:

“Overall, really fantastic writing. It’s beautifully composed –and also subtle. So despite the rather brash setup of an ex-convict, this leaves me feeling very intrigued about the rest of the plot. Nice job! I don’t have any overarching notes for you, other than to continue working on loosening your dialogue. You’ve got a good start to it, but there are some scenes that come across as just a touch stiff. (Dialogue is hard; it will come with some revision, I’m sure.) Best of luck with your query process; I have no doubt you will find an agent!”

So that’s pretty cool, right? If you’re wondering why she didn’t ask for the full manuscript herself, she doesn’t usually represent this genre. However, having good feedback from professional agent is certainly encouraging. I have already made revisions to the opening chapter of Three Empty Frames and will post the final edition later this week. Thank you all for reading along!

Making Tea…

~ Meg ~ 57 Comments

Adventures in editing. 

I have another opportunity to share a blunder in my writing. I have mentioned before about how meticulous I am about research, yet I’ve made an error in something so simple I never considered looking into it.

In the recent reposting of my installment of Here Lies a Soldier: The Letters and the Locket, I describe my characater Meredith making a cup of tea. I am a tea drinker, have a pot, a strainer and a collection of loose tea, therefore I had Meredith make the tea the way I would … in the United States. *buzzer sound* 

One of my dear friends, who is English, pointed out to me that in England, everyone uses an electric kettle not a stove top kettle. Additionally, it would be far more realistic for Meredith to use a tea bag for a quick ‘cuppa’ not the loose tea that I described.

This might not seem like a big deal, it’s a little detail not even important to the plot. So why make a fuss? Because it is one of those tiny brush strokes on the larger canvas that can add to or detract from the larger picture. I will be returning to that section and editing accordingly. 

This is the kind of thing that makes blogging and its community of writers so absolutely priceless –getting feedback like that. I for one, am eternally grateful!

NaNoWriMo or no…

~ Meg ~ 71 Comments

I am considering participating in National Novel Writing Month this year. Why on earth would I want to subject myself to that torture? Well, here’s why…

I HAVE BOOK FIVE OF MY SERIES FULLY PLOTTED OUT AND I HAVEN’T WRITTEN A BLOODY WORD SINCE FEBRUARY BECAUSE I CAN’T SEEM TO GET OFF THIS STUPID BLOG WRITING CAROUSEL!!!!!

There. I feel better. The truth is I’ve been more caught up in “Here Lies a Soldier” than the novel universe. But I also feel like in being a series writer, the books need to appear in semi-regular fashion if they are going to keep the audience’s attention. Which is why I thought signing up for NaNoWriMo might force me to pick up the thread of the next  Bucks County Novel episode. If I succeed in vomiting out 50,000 words over the 30 days of November, I can edit and proof read in December, get it to the beta readers on January first, and barring any glaring problems with the manuscript, do the final edit and publish before the end of February. Sounds like a good plan.

On the other hand, what that means for blogging is that I will have to drastically cut down on the time I spend here. In fact I was thinking of just hanging in with Lula for drinking adventurously and making that my one and only weekly contribution. And maybe just a quick hello in the comments of your lovely posts as best I can.

I’m still wavering. NaNo is a HUGE commitment. I absolutely despise deadlines. The time constraints might have the opposite effect from what I intend and I’ll just get mad and frustrated. So I don’t know…

Are any of you doing NaNoWriMo? And if you are, care to twist my arm?