Wednesday, October 10, 2007

A little shaky

So I'm not always confident.

Last night just before I went home I printed out (and re-read) my synopsis for Jenna. I don't know what it is about synopses, but even though it tells the story, it has the voice, etc....it still makes the story sound kinda weird, all crunched down like that. I think that's what spurred the two dreams I had last night:

1. I dreamed that I got a rejection letter back from my #1 agent, and it was strange (of course, it was a dream, duh) because instead of writing her own letter, she had written snarky comments all over my query, in orange pen. The sweet part about this dream is that after feeling very disappointed for about a minute, I looked up at my husband and said "well, let's tackle the list--let's send out ten new ones today" and immediately started writing queries to other agents. Good attitude turn around there.

2. Shortly after this one I dreamed that I had to read my manuscript out loud to a class. (The provenance of this dream isn't hard, as I was observing peer critiques in a creative writing undergrad class yesterday.) Except it wasn't really Jenna, it was some mutated blog form of Jenna with illustrations I had to show everyone, and a kid's poem to start. And I had that moment of panic where I realized this was just too weird to show anyone, much less sell...

And that's when I woke up and had to get ready for the day. It left me with a little residual sense of negativity, I must say--I wish I'd ended with the first one. Must move on and write on Book 3 today, and I plan to print up Jenna in the next couple days and read the whole thing just before I leave, to pump up my enthusiasm. Hopefully. {s}

Small things I've learned about Natalie in the past 2 days of writing/thinking (that may or may not ever actually make it into Book 3). These aren't major points, just details for me to know:
  • she's always late
  • she likes to wear baseball caps
  • she lived in Seattle when she was little
  • because of this she's a Mariners fan (you're welcome, Kreekie)
  • she has a soft spot for underdogs and will stand up to bullies
  • she's a bit of a daydreamer
  • she's not very into schoolwork, except art class
I really enjoy this part of getting to know a character. It feels like they become real, and settle into my head. And whether or not any or all of this makes it into the writing overtly, I think that if I know it about her, it makes her rounded, whole. And it makes sense if I suddenly want to write a scene and I find it starts with her watching a Mariners game. {s}

And a picture for you!

5 comments:

Precie said...

Hang in there, Susan. Surrey is right around the corner.

And yay for 3% on Book 3!

Cindy said...

DH and I were just discussing this the other night. TV show premise, case in point:
Guy's parents sold his soul to the devil when he was a kid, so now he works at a building supply place and has to recapture souls escaped from Hell for the Devil.

Now, say that out loud, and it's clearly a dumb idea. (wry G) The difference between dumb idea and passably good sitcom? Characterization. Decent writing. Humour. And thank heavens the reader/watcher WANTS to be entertained, and will give you the chance to draw them in.

So don't sweat it! Your premise (or what I've been able to figure out about it-because you're sly- S)sounds interesting and original. A little tweaking, if you like. Then run with it!!

Susan Adrian said...

Thanks, Precie! Dreams last night were blissfully stress-free. {g}

(and thanks for noticing that 3%! Maybe I can nudge it up to 5% before Surrey...)

Susan Adrian said...

Cindy:

It really is that, mostly, I think. When you lay a plot bare, almost any plot, it sounds fairly idiotic. The reader/viewer doesn't notice that when they're involved...at least I hope. {s}

Cindy said...

Ja.

A friend once told me her story was "about a girl who finds out she has super powers."

And how!