Remember that one time I wrote a novel in 30 days and it was awesome? Well prepare for Part II of Awesomness. I'm going at it again. This time will be a little different, though. I'm re-writing a story from scratch that I originally wrote more than 10 years ago. But it goes back even farther than that. This is a story I used to tell my sisters at night after bedtime during the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. I used to con them into doing my chores in exchange for nighttime storytelling.
"Are you going to tell the story again tonight?" they'd asked.
"Ah, well. I don't know," I'd reply, stretching and yawning. "I'm pretty sure I'll be too tired after I do my chore."
"What if we do your chore?" they'd ask night after night. "Would you feel awake enough to tell us then?"
"Maybe," I'd whisper, feigning exhaustion. "But it still might help if someone brushed my hair while I told it. Just to make sure."
Maybe that's not exactly how it happened, but it's how I remember it, and I'll be sure to include it in my query letter when I'm done. "This story so captivated my pre-teen sisters that they sold themselves into servitude for a snippet--a few stolen sentences at bedtime."
Or not.
Still, I'm excited to rework it. I've taken it to two writing conferences and have walked away with good feedback, but I feel like the writing is fundamentally immature. I know the characters, I know the plot, and I'm excited to see how this will flesh everything out for me. My goal is 2,666 words a day, which is pretty ambitious for someone who only has a couple of hours to dedicate to writing on week nights, but I feel like I can do it. And if you'll all clap your hands and yell: "I do believe in Cynthia. I do! I do!" I'm sure I can do it.
Blog off.
"Are you going to tell the story again tonight?" they'd asked.
"Ah, well. I don't know," I'd reply, stretching and yawning. "I'm pretty sure I'll be too tired after I do my chore."
"What if we do your chore?" they'd ask night after night. "Would you feel awake enough to tell us then?"
"Maybe," I'd whisper, feigning exhaustion. "But it still might help if someone brushed my hair while I told it. Just to make sure."
Maybe that's not exactly how it happened, but it's how I remember it, and I'll be sure to include it in my query letter when I'm done. "This story so captivated my pre-teen sisters that they sold themselves into servitude for a snippet--a few stolen sentences at bedtime."
Or not.
Still, I'm excited to rework it. I've taken it to two writing conferences and have walked away with good feedback, but I feel like the writing is fundamentally immature. I know the characters, I know the plot, and I'm excited to see how this will flesh everything out for me. My goal is 2,666 words a day, which is pretty ambitious for someone who only has a couple of hours to dedicate to writing on week nights, but I feel like I can do it. And if you'll all clap your hands and yell: "I do believe in Cynthia. I do! I do!" I'm sure I can do it.
Blog off.
Book
ReplyDeleteIt starts....
ReplyDeleteApparently I've unintentionally coordinated my personal novel-writing month with NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I am so accidentally awesome!
ReplyDeleteOnce again, you are impressing me. Where does the inspiration come from? I am feeling so dreary about my writing these days...
ReplyDeleteThanks Crystal. Maybe we should start a local writer's group to help encourage and inspire each other. Writers are bipolar by necessity, I think. I often battle the highs and lows of my obsession.
ReplyDeleteI know which story this is...
ReplyDeleteCrys--was my recollection accurate? ;)
ReplyDelete