Writing is Lot Easier than Pitching!

Writing is Lot Easier than Pitching!

Yes, we were at Petco Park to watch the Padres beat the Giants, 3-2, this week, which got us out of last place (at least for a day). That's not what I mean about "pitching," however. Having written a novel seems to be the easiest part of the process of publishing a book. The amount of information that has to be prepared and available for presentation when pitching a manuscript to an agent/publisher is daunting! I have the One Sentence Storyline completed. I have the Five Sentence Storyline done. The Chapter Synopsis is done. I am working on a Two Page Synopsis, a Scene Synopsis, and a One page Synopsis. This last one pager is for the La Jolla conference specifically, an extra task. Once the above is done I'll be working on my Query Letter.

The Chapter Synopsis has been an eye opener. Frankly, it's been a little discouraging. There is a heavy emphasis on maintaining plot continuity. Each scene, each chapter, has to advance the story. In the earlier chapters, the troupe of adventurers certainly progress along the journey they are on toward their final goal. But, I'm less certain that the plot of the story is advancing as it should. There is a lot of explanation, but I'm worried that there isn't enough action and conflict.

I have tentatively selected the twelve page excerpt of my manuscript required for the conference. I fitted together parts of Chapter Fifteen and Eighteen. These two chapters focus on the conflict between the fiend, Kee, and Philly, as well as involving the rest of Dice's Troupe. I hope that the excerpt will show my writing style and relevant examples of how Majik and Song make up the twin worlds. 

Our writer's group met on 5 September. I got some truly superb critiques on "The Majik of Spark" that sent me back to the manuscript to work on the suggestions and issues that were brought up. There are three major changes that I need to work out.

I'll get to what those are and what I am doing about it in a future post. Getting that done before the conference is going to be a challenge.

 There is a new post on the Wild Family Adventures Blog:

http://wildfamilytales.blogspot.com/2013/09/rules-of-pve-pet-battle-engagement.html