Janet Reid, the Gordon Ramsay of Queries.

Project: TFI

Looked at: Chapter 7

Starting word count: 80,878

Ending word count: 80,886

Gain/Loss: +12

Biggest problem: Some of the sections didn't sound quite right.

Favorite line: "Can I ask you a question?"
"You just did."
Jana groaned. "Fine, have it your way. I have a question."
"I have an answer," Aeronth replied cheekily.-Page 69

Daily WTF: "The screen flashed green, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief." –Page 84

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What I'm listening to: New Math (Bo Burnham)

It's been a few days since I last posted. I've been in a bit of an editing slump lately. On the bright side, I did get a fabulous new idea for ELEVEN while I was on my way home from work the other night. I've written it down, but it'll be shelved until I actually start writing the novel for 2YN. I don't want to cheat the process. I spent the last few days reading over editor and agent blogs, catching up on the latest episode of Lost, and so on. I read back through Janet Reid's old blog posts. It made me realize something.

Janet Reid is the Gordon Ramsay of queries.

If anyone doesn't know who Gordon is, you're mad. (No, not the angry kind, you wanker.) Look him up if you don't know what I'm talking about. By the by, that is a compliment.

Also, I found this fabulous article about writing. Read it, learn it, live it.

Another Day of Editing

Project: TFI

Looked at: Chapter 1

Starting word count: 79,981

Ending word count: 80,014

Gain/Loss: +33

Biggest problem: None, really. Just a few wording changes here and there.

Favorite Line: "There was no time for petty injuries. After all, it was only a flesh wound. Even if there was a freak accident along the way that left her limbless, Jana would still find a way to get to this meeting." –Page 1

"Jana had always thought Lt.Colonel Buchannan had a voice like a broken whistle […] Her voice irritated Jana, high pitched and wheezing. As long as the Colonel was on Jana's side, however, she could wheeze the entirety of Beethoven's Fourth and Jana could care less." –Page 6

Daily WTF:
"The more she thought on it, the more obscure and mysterious it became, the way saying nearly any word repeatedly eventually makes you doubt yourself that it's a word at all." –Page 13

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With the stats for today out of the way, I'd just like to say that I have no idea where that WTF came from. I know what I wanted it to say, but don't ask me how it ended up like that. It's fixed (for now), but we'll just have to see how that turns out. On the bright side, there were two lines that I liked enough that I couldn't decide which was better. Not that they can't still be tweaked, but they're getting there. Which do you like? Why?

This year, I decided to give Lazette Gifford's Two Year Novel Course (2YN) on fmwriters a try. It's definitely got a thumbs-up from me so far. I was tossing two different ideas around for the course, and finally settled on ELEVEN. It's a project that's been shelved for two years, give or take. The other option was something completely new that doesn't have a title. It's currently called UNTITLED.

Original, I know. So sue me.

I stumbled across Query Shark last week. Two words: LOVE IT! Not only is it hilarious, it's incredibly insightful. For any writer who's wondered why their query gets rejection after form rejection, it's a great resource. I strongly recommend grabbing a hard copy of your query and a red pen, and going through the queries. Yes, every one of them. I guarantee that by the end of it, you'll have a very colorful query. But you know what? That's not a bad thing. Making mistakes helps you to learn all of the things NOT to do, and before you know it, you'll be doing the right things without even thinking about it.