Revising My Story

I have to say that revising my story was quite a challenge.  Some of the impressions that everyone got were not things that I ever expected.  With that being said,  I am so glad that I was able to have that input.  A lot of the things that people thought were not at all what I intended when I was writing. 

The main thing I had to take in to account while revising my story was the fact that most people thought that Haylee is the protagonist.  I intended for Emma to be the protagonist.  I need readers to understand this from the beginning.  I had to figure out a way to make this clear from the beginning. 

Another thing that was not completely surprising was the fact that most people thought the two girls from the prologue were Emma and Haylee.  I understand how they could get this impression.  However, I want to make it clearer that they are not the children being abused.  The suggestions made to add the year to the beginning of the chapters is a good suggestion.  However, it is not something I wanted to do because it gives too much away too quickly.  I had to rework the prologue to make that situation a little clearer. 

The main thing that I never even thought about was the situation involving the accident.  Now, that people have pointed out to me seems so stupid that I never saw it before.  Why didn’t the cops question Haylee’s sobriety?  I still need to completely rework this scene to fit that in.  For many reasons I think this will add to the story.  One, it will raise the tension of the situation.  It will also help with the later moments in the story when the accident is brought up again.  I see now that I have a lot of research to do  on police procedures involving these types of situations. 

Overall, the feedback that was given was very helpful.  I was really thankful to get fresh perspectives on the story.  I think that through all the feedback that was given will really help with the completed product.   I cannot wait until I have some serious free time to really take these comments and add these suggestions to my piece. 

Literary Agents

1.      Sara D’Emic of Talcott Notch Literary Services, LLC

Seeking: In fiction, accepts adult and YA fantasy, sci-fi, horror, mystery, and mainstream fiction.

Previous Works: R.F. Sharp’s No Regrets, No Remorse came out a few months ago, but there’s a sequel in the works and I’m excited. Sharp won the Poisoned Pen Press Discover Mystery Contest with the first book.

Enjoys Reading: Young Adult Horror.  This is her favorite genre to work in.

Submission Guidelines: Query letters should be one to two pages long and can be accompanied by the first ten pages of your manuscript. They strongly prefer email queries and can reply faster to email. Email queries should be addressed to the specific agent you are interested in considering your work.

2.      Kaylee Davis of Dee Mura Literary

Seeking: Genres of sci-fi, fantasy, speculative fiction, and young adult; bonus points if there are elements of steampunk, coming-of-age, urban fantasy, espionage, social commentary, or counter culture.

Previous works:  None.  She is seeking to build her client base, but is very excited about working with non-published writers.

Enjoys Reading:  She is drawn to exciting, thought-provoking stories with a fresh perspective that explores what it means to be human.

Submission Guidelines:  Send query with the author’s name and project title in the subject heading. Within the body of the email include a short description of the project, a brief author biography, even if you have no previous publications, a Synopsis and the first 25 pages

3.      Mandy Hubbard of D4EO Literary Agency

Seeking:  Romance, Regency Romance, "New Adult" romance, YA Horror and/or thriller, A YA novel in verse, MG with a fun girly angle and series potential, YA Romance, whether historical or contemporary, Historical YA novels based within real tragedies, YA with a hook

Previous Work:  Joy N. Hensley's THE PANDORA SOCIETY,  VIRTUOSITY and THE VOW author Jessica Martinez's INCOGNITO, STORM author Brigid Kemmerer's next books in her Elemental Series

Submission Guidelines: EMAIL SUBMISSIONS ONLY.  Put "Query: Book Title" in the subject line of the email, Paste the first five pages of your novel below your query.  No attachments will be accepted.

Goodreads

Goodreads is a very interesting site that helps you see what your friends are reading and to share what they themselves are reading.  Even though I think there are some great things about it there are a few things that bother me. 

I think that it is very helpful in a lot of way.  One it does help you find good things to read if you are on the hunt.  There are a lot of authors I have discovered by going through the site and looking at the things my friends recommend.

However…doing this takes a lot of time.  That is the main problem that I have.  I have spent several hours going through the site and trying to rate books, and look through everything.   Frankly, I do not have the time. 

I think that the concept is awesome.  I do use it to help me find things to read, but I just wish it wasn’t so freaking time consuming. 

I will say that I think that it is a great way for authors to get there work out there.  This is especially true with the book giveaways.  (That is something I love…I mean who doesn’t love free books right?)  I do think that it is a great way to find things to read. 

I personally would rather spend my time actually reading, than looking on the internet at what everyone else is reading.     

Description Blog

The orange and red dance as a gentle breeze blows through the slightly cracked window, casting a yellow glow on the blue wall behind.

The rainbow drips down covering the green glass, the pedestal in which the flame is held aloft safely.  

There is no scent,  only that of the soft smoke curling and looping around the ceiling fan, creating intricate circles and swirls of gray against the dimly lit lamp in the corner. 

               

              The melting rainbow seeps down, over the white contaminating…

First red,

Then blue.

 Each color overlapping the last.  Each determined to remain vibrant and distinct. Individual. 

I slowly reach out, careful to use only the slightest touch, careful to use only the smallest part of my finger, unwilling to change the pattern leaking down.

 With only the very smallest tip of a finger I touch the red.  Heat.  The burn, only for an instant, as it slowly turns back into its solid form. Staining my skin. 

Fly-By-Night Theatr Company Presents: 15 Feet By: Kati Frasier...A show that should not be missed

Fly-By-Night Theatre Company would like to invite you to its show '15 Feet' by Kati Frazier, presented at the 11th Annual Greensboro Fringe Festival. Celia and Diane meet, meet, and meet again in this modern romantic comedy of family and politics. February 1st 10pm, February 2nd 8pm, and February 3rd 2pm, City Arts, Downtown Greensboro. 

http://www.flybynighttheatre.com/

 

The mission of Fly-By-Night Theatre Company is simple: to develop new and challenging works in theatre, dance, and film, all produced and performed by the talented and adept artists of North Carolina. We offer a theatrical experience that can be found nowhere else because we present fresh works that have not been done before. We push ourselves to be ahead of the curve so that the vitality of the contemporary theatrical movement endures.  We put pressure on the moment we're living in and express ourselves through creation, not interpretation. We firmly believe that superior process makes superior product. We are a group of dedicated professionals. We are active collaborators. We do what we do with verve and love  – and you will love it too. 

'15 Feet' is a thought provoking piece that will leave the audience laughing, crying, but most importantly, thinking as they leave the theater.  It will be a great experience for all audiences.

THERE IS HEAVY LANGUAGE, SEXUAL CONTENT, AND ADULT THEMES.  THIS PLAY IS NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN. 

 

First Workshop

Workshops are a great thing for writers and for all artists.  I have found that I have learned a lot about myself as a writer while participating in various styles of workshops.  Even if we aren’t working on a piece that I have written, I am able to see what most readers appreciate and what they don’t and try to incorporate that into my on work.

I think that the first workshop we had on Thursday was probably one of the most helpful I have ever participated in.  I really appreciated the structure.  In previous workshops there was a serious lack of structure.  Each person involved was trying to talk at once, and it was very difficult to get anything constructive out of it.  By giving each person five minutes to speak and then allowing the discussion to continue was the biggest thing for me.  I was able to listen to what other people had to say.  A lot of times, I found that I agreed with what they had to say even though I didn’t realize it in my own analysis.

One thing that I have found to be a big problem for me in previous workshops is that most people are afraid to give constructive criticism.  Often times they simply say that a piece was ‘good’.  Well that is all fine and great.  You might really think the piece is good.  However, if you can’t back up your reasoning then it does nothing to help the writer improve not only the piece but their craft.   

I do not think this was a problem with this workshop. 

Everyone was willing to give true constructive criticism.  They were able to articulate their initial feelings about the piece well, and give reasons behind why.   The why is always the most important part, at least for me.   I was very impressed with the fact that people within the workshop did not hesitate to talk about the problems with the piece.  Even though it is important to remember to do it in a polite and constructive way, we as writers have to come to terms with the fact that not everyone is going to like what we write.  Each piece is not perfect simply because it is put down on the page.    We have to be able to listen to constructive criticism and not let it affect our egos, so to speak.    I think that this was accomplished.

As mentioned in class, the average amount of time that people spoke about the piece was around three minutes.  I do not think that it should be shortened from five minutes.  I felt I had to rush through all the things I wanted to say to stay within the five minute limitation (Okay, I admit that I do speak a lot so this is probably not how most people felt).    Of course the time we are expected to give feedback is going to be reflected in the length of the piece we are critiquing, I think that five minutes is a perfect time.  I would really hate to see that change. 

In short, I got a lot of out the workshop on Thursday.  I would like to see this structure continue.  I would like to see people be even more willing to give constructive criticism.  I treat other writers the way I want them to treat me.  I think that it is important for us to remember that we are not attacking the person, but simply giving feedback.  This feedback is not given to be mean or cruel, but to help.  Art is something that we can always improve on.  Workshops are a way for artists to do that.   I think that the environment set up within the classroom gave a safe and constructive outlet for that.