Troubles with a Change of Cast

I've been working with Jacky, trying to get her first book the best it possibly can be, for six years. That's a long time, if you think about it. In that time, I've written seven other books. (All complete trash. I'm a slow learner.) Only three of those books were not Jacky related.

It's not that I intentionally made Jacky the only character making a major play for publication. Every time I try to work on something new, I'd get another idea to make AD better. Or for the next book, or a short story.

After finishing the second draft of AD (version 3), I made a very firm decision to take a break from Jacky. I need something new to clear my head. Hopefully when I return for round three of edits, I'll be going over it with a clear mind. It needs some work, I already have ideas on the things that need a bit of tweaking, but it's solid. No more rewrites, damnit.

To keep my mind off Jacky, I picked up a WIP I started a year or so ago, but never took anywhere because all I had was a title, some characters, and a bit of world building to go off of. I've been having struggles with it. The plot is coming together (more or less), but the character voices aren't the strong things that the cast of AD have. Add mystery (something I've never written before) and the weak character voices makes writing this book a damn challenge.

But challenge is good. Doing something so different is good. For one, I'm learning how to write a different kind of story. (Though, honestly, it freaks me out that FBL doesn't have much action in it. It's more character/mystery driven than AD.) For another, writing new things broadens the horizons, makes you look at things in a different light. Learning to come at a story from a different angle will be great for when I edit AD, because I'll probably (hopefully) see things in a different light, and be able to work a little more suspense and thrill into it all.

That being said, I need to get cracking on FBL, because I want to have the first draft finished before I start round three editing on AD.

A Writer's Guide to Abbreviations

As I've submerged myself deeper into the massive world of writers, I've come across a surprising number of abbreviations. A lot of these I hadn't heard of until I asked the wonderful peeps at the Absolute Write forums for some of their favorite abbreviations. (Thanks for the help everyone!)

The list is (attempting to be) in alphabetical order, and will be an ongoing project. If you have writerly abbreviations you'd like to see on the list, drop a comment!

EF - Epic Fantasy

FMC - Female Main Character

HEA - Happily Ever After

HFN - Happily For Now

LI - Love Interest

MC - Main Character

MMC - Male Main Character

MG - Middle Grade

POV - Point of View

RST - Resolved Sexual Tension

SNI - Shiny New Idea

UF - Urban Fantasy

UST - Unresolved Sexual Tension

WIP - Work in Progress

YA - Young Adult

Falling Out of Love with a WIP

AD (also known as THE Project) has been on hold while I wait for beta readers to go over it and give me back their wonderful comments. To keep myself to diving straight into the next round of revisions before I get feedback, I've been working on FAERIE BAD LUCK.

I've been having issues. A lot of them. But I think they all are linked back to one central problem.

I'm really not in love with this story, or the characters, or anything.

A large part of the problem is that I'm probably too in love with Jacky and co. They've been with me the longest. We've worked together the hardest. We've grown up together, in a writer-character relationship that I don't have with any other characters. This is proving to be problematic because none of the other possible characters and SNIs floating around in my head are as appealing as Jacky and co.

Maybe the problem here isn't that I fell out of love with FBL, but that I was never in love with it to begin with.

And it shows.

My question for you (not that any of you ever seem inclined to answer them, tsk tsk): What makes you fall in love with a new WIP?

To-Read List 2010 August Update

Man. Half way through August before it occurs to me to do an update of this thing. It's been a slow month for reading.

The impending doom of school has sapped me of all will. Need to shake it off and get on with life. Sitting around moping cannot be good for a girl's health.

The List (in no particular order)

Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson

The Well of Ascension - Brandon Sanderson

Hero of the Ages - Brandon Sanderson

Well of Eternity - Richard A. Knaak

Shakespeare's Landlord - Charlaine Harris

Shakespeare's Champion - Charlaine Harris

Shakespeare's Trollop - Charlaine Harris

From Dead to Worse - Charlaine Harris

Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris

Dragonfly in Amber - Diana Gabaldon

Voyager - Diana Gabaldon

Magic in the Blood - Devon Monk

Magic in the Shadows - Devon Monk

Dragon Bones - Patricia Briggs

Dragon Blood - Patricia Briggs

Bone Crossed - Patricia Briggs

Silver Borne - Patricia Briggs

Small Gods - Terry Pratchett

Lords and Ladies - Terry Pratchett

Vampire Academy - Richelle Mead

Frostebite - Richelle Mead

Blood Promise - Richelle Mead

Shadow Kiss - Richelle Mead

City of Bones - Cassandra Clare

City of Ashses - Cassandra Clare

City of Glass - Cassandra Clare

The Historian - Elizabeth Kostova

Enders Game - Orson Scott Card (borrowed from brother, don't actually own)

American Gods - Neil Gaiman

Kushiel's Scion - Jacqueline Carey

Kushiel's Justice - Jacqueline Carey (Don't actually own this one. Don't know how that happened.)

Banewrecker - Jacqueline Carey

Gardens of the Moon - Steven Erikson

Glass Houses - Rachel Caine

The Dead Girls' Dance - Rachel Caine

Midnight Alley - Rachel Caine

Feast of Fools - Rachel Caine

Lord of Misrule - Rachel Caine

Carpe Corpus - Rachel Caine

Firestorm - Rachel Caine

Thin Air - Rachel Caine

A Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin

The Gunslinger - Stephen King

Prince of Dogs - Kate Elliott

The Burning Stone - Kate Elliott

The Last Wish - Andrzej Sapkowski

Genesis of Shannara - Terry Brooks

Children of Chaos - Dave Duncan

In the Realm of the Wolf - David Gemmell

Hero in the Shadows - David Gemmel

The Becoming - Jeanne C. Stein

The Scent of Shadows - Vicki Pettersson

Dragonfly - Frederic S. Durbin

Personal Demon - Kelley Armstrong

No Humans Involved - Kelley Armstrong

Broken - Kelley Armstrong

The Summoning - Kelley Armstrong

The Awakening - Kelley Armstrong

His Majesty's Dragon - Naomi Novik

Thorne of Jade - Naomi Novik

Night World Vol. 3 - L.J. Smith

The Secret Circle - L.J. Smith

The Night of the Solstice - L.J. Smith

The Hunter - L.J. Smith

The Chase - L.J. Smith

The Kill - L.J. Smith

Changes - Jim Butcher

Beauty - Robin McKinley

Spindle's End - Robin McKinley

Tithe - Holly Black

Valiant - Holly Black

Ironside - Holly Black

White Cat - Holly Black

Vamped - Lucienne Diver

Speak of the Devil - Jenna Black

The Dust of 100 Dogs - A.S. King

Helpless - MJ Pearson

Bullet - Laurell K. Hamilton

Graceling - Kristin Cashore

Black Magic Sanction - Kim Harrison

Something from the Nightside - Simon R. Green

A Devil in the Details - K.A. Stewart

Red Hot Fury - Kasey MacKenzie

The Switch - Lynsay Sands

Silver Phoenix - Cindy Pon

Lament - Maggie Stiefvater

Ballad - Maggie Stiefvater

Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater

Dark Angels - Karleen Koen

Leviathan - Scott Westerfield

Soulless - Gail Carriger

Personal Demons - Stacia Kane

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins

Boneshaker - Cherie Priest

Golden Compass - Philip Pullman

Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman

Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman

Midnight Daughter - Karen Chance

Mob Rules - Cameron Haley

Devil in a Red Kilt - Elizabeth Williams

Rose Daughter - Robin McKinley

Dealing With Doubt

I've probably blogged about this before. But it's something that writers have to deal with. All the time. No matter what.

Doubt.

There's so many different kings of doubt, too. While writing, after, writing, before writing. Same for revising and publication. That's right, you heard me. I said publication. I'm not there yet, but I know some awesome folks who are, and the doubt doesn't stop just because they've gotten a book out there. If anything else, publication ADDS to the pool that doubt pulls from to bring us down.

I wish there were some magical doubt-be-gone. If there is, someone send me the link cause I'd like to get me some.

In the mean time, here's some of the ways I cope when doubt is niggling at me.

1) Look at how far you've come. Writing is a long, often tedious road. But it's one that had landmarks along the way. I keep everything. Every. Thing. Notes jotted down on movie stubs, napkins, files with bits and scraps I wrote that one time when I couldn't see the screen I was crying so hard and I've no idea what I was trying to say but I wrote something.

Sometimes it helps to pull the old pieces out and laugh at them. Laugh at the horrible prose, the poor characterization, and lack of a coherent plot. And maybe be surprised by a tiny gem hiding in all the shit. Then go and look at something written last week, or this week, and there's such a marked difference. My God, the prose isn't all that bad, that character has quirks, and wonder of wonders, the plot actually works. Okay, so maybe it's not perfect, but I've come such a long way.

2) Commiserate with people that understand. There are dozens of social networks for writers out on the interwebs. Find a community that works for you, make friends, and share with them. Writers are spread everywhere, over every genre, and chances are there will be someone that's been in the same boat you're sinking in. Most of the writers I've met are more than glad to share their hard learned wisdom, and pull another writer out of the pits of doubt. We all want to succeed, and we want to see each other succeed too.

Just be sure to share in all the ups as well as the downs. No body like a constant Debby-Downer.

3) Take a step back. Get a hobby. Go outside (gasp! Yes! The horrible outside with the sunlight and bugs and PEOPLE.) Find something you enjoy doing that gets you out of the office, or away from the computer. Something other than reading. Writing and reading are intertwined, and while one can often feed the other, sometimes reading can cause the doubt bogging down the creative mind.

Spend a day shopping, or go to the movies. Take your best friend out for drinks, or go get your hair done. Get your mind off writing, and come back to it in a day or two when you're feeling refreshed. Chances are you'll see things in a new light (hopefully a better one) and the doubt won't be so loud.

I'm sure there are a lot of other ways to deal with doubt. What do you do when doubt starts prodding you in the back of the head?