Another Blog Buddy Gets an Agent!

Yes, agents are still taking on clients, and here's the proof. Congratulations, Cheryl!!!

Weekend Update

I wrote about 3000 words this weekend. Some of it is still on my Neo. It was all for the same novel--A Hollywood Miracle. I decided to go with this novel based on pure logic--it was closest to being finished.

When I sat down to write yesterday, I really didn't want to. My husband and daughter were taking up both computers by playing a networked game (Doom of all things. I can't believe I'm letting my daughter play Doom. At least it's the 90s version), so I couldn't even get to my manuscript. So I got out my Neo and my notebook and tried to find an untranscribed scene. But they were all transcribed. I looked at my outline (which is in my notebook) to see what should come next, and I started working on some scenes to up the tension between John (the actor), Max (the stunt man) and Karen (Max's friend). That accounts for about 1000 words.

I was very proud of myself for a) sticking to the same novel all weekend, b) writing even though I didn't feel like it and c) managing to come up with a good, conflict-filled scene anyway.

Which title do you like better, A Hollywood Miracle or The Stunt Man's Miracle?

Chewed Out By My Muse

This morning, I gave myself a harsh talking-to. Or rather, my muse chewed me out. In case you didn't know, my muse is a Drill Sergeant. From the Marine Corps. I may have served in the Air Force, but my muse is a Marine. He looks something like this, except he's younger and more good-looking:

Any, DS Muse told me in no uncertain terms that if I want to be a writer, I need to act like one. No more letting stories languish just because I'm waiting on the decisions of agents and editors. No more vascillating between my favorite book-of-the-week. I was told that I need to sit down, shut up, and write.

So yesterday and today, I hammered out a synopsis for my time travel fantasy. I now have to choose between the following projects (not counting my low reading level young adult novellas, which are languishing in maybe-land):

Title: A Hollywood Miracle
Genre: Hollywood Mainstream/Inspirational (it's too edgy for Christian, I think)
One-sentence blurb: Martial arts expert meets angel and is given the ability to work a single miracle in order to rescue the soul of his childhood hero, actor John Raven, who has sold his soul for worldly success.
Progress: 20,000 of 80,000 words

Title: Any Woman
Genre: Hollywood Romance
One-sentence blurb: Small-town girl refuses to date big-time actor unless he can remain scandal-free for an entire year, but the media learns of her challenge and she finds herself at the center of a scandal of her own.
Progress: 10,000 out of 80,000 words

Title: On the Highway of Time
Genre: Contemporary Fantasy
One-sentence blurb: Brother/sister travel writing team take a road trip back in time to rescue a girl from Colonial times who got lost in time and ended up an opium-addicted gun moll in the 20s.
Progress: detailed synopsis only

I like 'em all, and I keep floating between the three of them. I'm asking myself, what would Nora Roberts do? She would pick one and go for it. So that is what I must do.

"Under Observation" Released Into the Wild. Plus Other Stuff.

My short story, now renamed "Under Observation", has been released into the wild.

Many thanks to those of you who read it. The feedback I got for this story is the most enthusiastic feedback I've ever received. Let's hope it's not met in the publishing world with a yawn.

~*~

My membership with a certain online writer's organization has expired, and I've decided not to renew. It wasn't what I expected, and it's not worth the 40 dollar fee when the only benefit you get is membership of yet another bulletin board system.True, agents hang out there, but agents hang out at blogs as well, and lots of blogging agents take questions from readers.

Instead, I am thinking about joining Online Writing Workshop. I was a member years ago when it was free. It's a great system and I was an idiot for not fessing over the money and joining years ago. And it has an added benefit of specializing in fantasy, science fiction and horror. It's 49 dollars a year, which is only 9 bucks more than that other system. The drawback to this system is that I don't always have something to critique, and I tend to only critique works when asked, or when I have something for which I am seeking critique.

So I might just save the money and join the Romance Writers of America later this summer.

Blogging has actually been tremendously helpful to me as a writer, so I may join nothing. Are you a member of any writing organization?

Teaser Tuesday - The Facts of Life Briefing

First, some almost-news. The editor at that publishing company liked the two synopses I sent her! Now she has to clear it with the CEO/Publisher.

This scene is not quite the same as the one in the version I sent out to beta readers. It's when Tory tries to give the Facts of Life Briefing to her new protegee.

Since most young women were kept in a state of ignorance about the ultimate relationship that occurs between men and women, the Ministry had developed what they officially termed the Reproduction Briefing. My mother had tried to prepare me for this briefing before I entered the Corps, but her tentative instruction had nothing on Miss Young's excruciatingly detailed drawings of parts of the body usually covered by clothes.

"Since we lack more dignified terms," Young had said during that briefing, "I will refer to the male parts as the "butterfly" and the female parts as the "flower."

Oh, how my cheeks had burned. We sat in a briefing room, and she used a pencil to point at drawings that looked nothing like either butterflies or flowers.

"As you know," she said, "the butterfly has between its wings, a long shaft. You may think of a man's . . . organ . . . as a butterfly without wings." She moved on to the female parts. "And like the flower, the female organ has a tubelike structure hidden among the petals." At this point, she had pinned her gaze upon me. "Now, anyone who has ever seen a butterfly pollinate a flower knows that the butterfly actually inserts itself into the flower. . . ."

I had emerged from my briefing much worldlier--and perpetually red-faced every time I looked at a man for weeks.

As I blushingly stumbled my way through the briefing, spots of color appeared on Miss Henry's cheeks. She listened in studious silence. However, when I got to the part about the insertion, Miss Henry began to giggle.

I looked at her with my brows raised.

"It's just that . . . that . . ." she gave up and giggled again.

"Yes?" I said, trying to keep my dignity as an instructor.

"I saw our dogs doing something like that once before my brother threw a rock at them. Are you telling me that all men and women do this?"

"Any couple who has had a child, yes."

"But it seems so undignified!"

At this point, I couldn't help it--I began to giggle as well. "Can you imagine?" I said, "Iron Mark?!"

We both sniggered like schoolgirls.

However, our newfound rapport vanished the next time Bradburn summoned her into his office.

Edgy Science Fiction Story

A couple of weeks ago, I had an idea for a very short science fiction story and I wrote it in my notebook. It sat there for a few weeks until yesterday morning, when I woke up knowing how it ends. Don't you love that? It's not even a thousand words.

Yesterday, I read it aloud to my husband. He was heaving heavy sighs when I started reading it, but he got interested quickly. He found one part rather shocking. And last night while I was trying to go to sleep, he kept talking about it. I take these all as hopeful signs. It involves an alien species and humans kept as lab rats.

I could use some feedback, so if you want to read it, please email me at tia dot nevitt at gmail dot com. Or, if you know my personal address, email me there. If you've read any of my other work, don't expect anything similar. This is very dark. Thanks!