Drawing from the Well
Queries Sent: 1
Total Queries: 24
Rejections: 3
Scenes Mapped: 3
Total Scenes: 285
I’m starting to get antsy from these agents who have not yet responded, even with rejections. I’m trying to be patient and focus on my efforts rather than results since that’s what I have control over. I also finished a set of scenes toward another chapter yesterday so we are moving right along. I think there’s only one more chapter, maybe two, before I dive into the Second Pinch. Things should start to tumble together pretty quickly after that.
Filling the Well
1984: 77%
Bloodwitch: 14%
No reading yesterday (you’ll see why below), but hoping for a good chunk of it today, especially if I can plow through my pending YouTube playlist. I know I complain about that taking me away from audiobooks a lot, but I love both. Look at yesterday’s blog about priorities for some insight into how audiobooks just keep falling to the bottom of the list.
Polishing the Well
Last night, my daughter participated in a year-end showcase of student-written and -directed skits. They were clever and funny and we had a great time. So proud of her.
Well Chat
How to Know Where and When to Start Your Book
Beginnings are one of the hardest parts of story writing. Yes, they’re harder than endings, by a lot. With endings, you have all the events prior that cascade forward to create the climactic “punch” in the story. With beginnings you literally only have the cover and the blurb on the back of the book. Your reader isn’t invested yet. You’re only just trying to set the hook of your story rather than keeping up the pace.
This article is not focused on WRITING the hook so much as determining when chronologically to place it. If I were going to write a blog about writing your hook and crafting it properly, I would first have to feel like I had the best handle on that myself. Which I don’t.
Where I do have experience is hook placement. This is because I fundamentally moved mine between two drafts at one point. When I read enough about story craft to realize that I needed a massive rewrite (my book needed its bones reset, let’s say that), one of the first things I analyzed was my hook. Originally, it was placed in media res in what is now the Inciting Incident. This didn’t work for me. I was trying to pull out emotions that should not have worked because my (future) readers have no connection with the characters yet. Can you write a story starting in media res? Absolutely, but I knew I was fumbling mine, so I backed up.
I crafted scene after scene to restart the story a few days earlier so that the characters had some room to breathe before I brought the hammer down. Again, I had problem getting the right hook in there. The important thing in the first Eighth of your story is to offer opportunities for your reader to connect with your characters before the true conflict kicks into gear.
The question you probably have then is how do you determine the “Goldilocks zone” for the beginning of your story. I’m going to borrow from the great K.M. Weiland and her book Structuring Your Novel here. One thing to keep in mind is that your Key Event should land approximately 25% into your story. If it’s landing at 15% or 40%, you know something is off. Additionally, what’s the first thing to happen that inevitably leads to your true conflict. This should usually be your first scene.
Now, for my last tip, it comes down to gut feeling. First off, write the book. Don’t worry about placement of key moments or characterization or setting or anything else. Get the damn story down. Then walk away. I know, it sounds crazy, but walk away. Give the story time to set as a thing that belongs to SOMEONE else in your mind. I’m talking a week to a month. When you come back to it, it needs to feel like someone else’s work. You can’t remember it verbatim or you won’t be able to make changes. At that point, don’t worry so much about making changes, just read your story and FEEL it. Feel it emotionally, let your gut talk to you. I guarantee that issues will leap off the page at you. You’ll feel it deep down that something is wrong. I did with my book and following that allowed me to craft the best story I possibly could.
Now
This is my 30th blog in a row. That’s a month solid without missing a day. It has taken dedication, planning, and routine to get to this point. Beyond that, I have been encouraged by the views, the likes, and the rare couple of comments I’ve gotten this month. Thank you to all my readers for that. Keep it up. I want to hear what you have to say about my random thoughts. I want to have a conversation about writing, so come chat with me in the comments. And keep reading. It means the world to me. Let’s see how much longer I can make this work.
Thank you.
May the tide carry you to safer shores.
BSG