It is time to get back to work.
Drawing from the Well
Queries Sent: 2
Total Queries: 37
Rejections: 23
Scenes Mapped: 0
Total Scenes: 359
We’ll chat about my lapse below, but let’s get back on the horse and talk about the important part first: the writing. I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus lately refilling the tank in many ways before diving back into everything in earnest (hence the long break from blogging). So no scenes mapped and no queries sent until last night. In that time a few rejections came in and several queries lapsed into the “no response” area. That’s fine.
But I, once again, started thinking about the materials I submitted and I wondered if my hook was strong enough. So I took some time over vacation (see below) to rework the beginning of the novel. I added and tweaked my first three chapters to give my characters stronger openings. THAT is what I’m submitting now and I’m excited to see if there is a difference. This process has also informed my WRITING process for Book 2 and I’m excited to get to that part of it. To do that, though, I have to finish the last quarter of the mapping process.
Filling the Well
Bloodwitch: 47%
The Dream Thieves: 82%
Panacea: 170/383
Any Way the Wind Blows: 100% (Book 20 of 25 for #ProjectBookworm2019)
The Raven Boys: 100% (Book 21 of 25 for #ProjectBookworm2019)
Guide to Literary Agents 2019 (Book 22 of 25 for #ProjectBookworm2019)
Talk about some movement! In my “off time” I finished two books and a short story by the illustrious Seanan McGuire (whose books I’m looking forward to devouring). Plus, I found my Panacea ARC paperback that I’ve been looking for and dove back into that and listened to most of Maggie Stiefvater’s sequel to The Raven Boys which is pulling me even deeper into this magical world she’s created. It’s been great getting some reading done and I hope to keep the momentum going. I’ve got a couple short stories in the hopper, one of which I’ve started. I just need to make sure to carve out time for reading. It’s good for my soul and my mental health.
Polishing the Well
I started this blog on June 20th as planned and then the day got away from me…and then I needed a break. The first three weeks of June were totally draining not just from a personal or professional perspective, but also from the creative perspective. I was putting this blog out there and got in a bit of a rut by picking topics that no one was interested in reading. So we’re going to do a recap:
Which starts with the little guy above. We found a raccoon on our porch a couple weeks ago. This is not a picture of the actual raccoon but rather one from the internet of one around his age. It was an adventure with him but he eventually got away.
And then there was our fabulous vacation to Key West. If you google images of Key West, you’ll see stills of most of what we saw live. We stopped at Zoo Miami on the way down and my wife and I got to feed a rhino while our kids fed parrots and a camel. Then we made the rest of the drive into Key West. We saw the Shipwreck Museum, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, Mallory Square, the Key West Lighthouse, the Hemingway House, and we went on a boat ride where we saw dolphins and snorkeled (not at the same time, though, as it’s a bit illegal). We counted punch buggies and chickens and ate some incredible food down there. We finished off our vacation by swinging by the Southernmost Point of the continental US. Then we got back and celebrated my daughter’s birthday, however unsuccessfully, and checked out a new burger place.
Suffice it to say, I’m feeling primed to get back to work.
Well Chat
What I’ve Learned
June was an experiment. As I came to find out throughout the month, it was a failed one. I thought that a series would hold readers’ (your) interest because there was a common thread running through each blog post. I thought it would be simpler on my end because I didn’t have to come up with an idea each day to write about. I thought it would be interesting to learn new things both about writing and myself.
It was a chore and a bore, it seems.
You guys don’t read my blog to learn about storycraft. You don’t even read it to learn about my universe that I’m writing in. In hindsight, that all makes sense. My universe only becomes interesting in the context of what I’ve published, otherwise it’s just ramblings. And storycraft isn’t what drew you here in the first place, so why would that keep you interested?
What I learned from those two long series of posts was that you’re here for me. You want to know about my struggles and triumphs through the lens of the writing. The topics I choose are just a vehicle and the most successful vehicles were those where I spent more time baring my soul about what goes on through this process.
So we’re going to stick to that. Series posts are a thing of the past unless I get a REALLY good idea (like my Doubt series). For now, the blog posts are going to be a bit shorter so you can get in and get out back to your day. They’re going to focus on me and what I’m doing and how I feel about it. I hope they’re uplifting and give you something to identify with through your own struggles in life. For now, I’m going to get a little book work done before I start my work day. I hope you all have a wonderful day.
Happy July Day.
May the tide carry you to safer shores.
BSG