Writing Your Way Out of Hibernation: Don't Quit!

 

Behold! I have emerged from the Writer’s Den refreshed and at long-last finished with phase 3-million of the major rewrite. I’ve sent it to beta readers, received their approval and now my baby lies in the more capable hands of my outstanding editor, Heather Webb (check her out, she’s fabulous!).

 

My apologies for being gone so long. I had to really commit myself to finishing this project. As I mentioned in Digging up The Dead: The Tale of The Manuscript That Wouldn’t Die, reviving the dead is no easy project and this manuscript was DEAD! It still looks something like this...

But that is what I’m writing this blog about…

As writers, we hear it all the time, “Just stick that horrible manuscript in a drawer and write something else.”

So I did that, right? And my ghostly characters called me back. They swore they weren’t dead and they wanted their story told. So I've slogged away for months and here’s what I’ve learned in the process.

• 1.      Writing improves with time.

• 2.      It’s extremely difficult to correct a billion mistakes in one manuscript.

• 3.      It’s hard letting go of writing that you once thought you loved.

• 4.      Remember to NOT make the same mistakes in the future.

• 5.      Every character has a mission (or should) and at least one that you love must be sacrificed.

• 6.      It’s worth the effort of rewriting a manuscript just to see how far you can go.

I know this manuscript is far from perfect (cough-cough UNDERSTATEMENT), really. I still see a lot more that needs to be addressed (enter the last round of edits) and I’m sure my editor is finding a gazillion more issues for me to fix (which is exactly why I so desperately need her expertise). Because when I’m done, though I still won’t have a perfect book – and when this old story finally sees the light of day I’m sure it will have its fair share of criticism – but the point of doing this is that I didn’t quit! 

 

It wasn’t easy to pick up that mess of an old manuscript and face my own poor writing demons, but I did (okay, there are a few still in there, but I’m really hoping Heather will exorcise them!) and I’m glad I did. It gave me a chance to look at my writing objectively, the same way I look at someone else’s work-in-progress and think wtf? What was I thinking? I was finally able to see what everyone else was trying to tell me (yes, Heather, I know. I hate chapter two also).

And that’s why I am so glad that I’ve committed to finishing this project, no matter how painful. This is the learning experience of a lifetime (one my degree could never teach) and even if this series won't be perfect, they’ll be something I can be proud of simply because I didn’t quit. Now, the next time I write from scratch I won’t make the same mistakes I made before (I’ll make new ones) and all of my future writing will be better because I suffered and slaved and patchwork quilted this thing back together. 

After ripping her apart and stitching her back together so many times this is pretty much how I see my beautiful heroine now.

My advice to you, if you’re just beginning this writing journey, is to really make sure the project is dead TO YOU, before locking it away forever. The manuscript might still never see the light of day, or maybe it will, but it doesn’t make the best-sellers-whatever, the point is…if that manuscript is still calling your name, then it has something more to teach you. 

 

Pick it up, dust it off, and give it another coat of elbow grease before you decide to let it die. You’re the only one who can truly know your manuscript and what you’re capable of accomplishing with it. If you don’t want to give up, yet, then don’t. That way if it still ends up without a pulse, at least you’ll know you did everything you could to save it and hopefully you learn some new CPR tricks. 

 

 

What's next for me? I’m tentatively planning to do a cover reveal for Search (SEEK Part 1) on April 1^st (depending on how bad my edit letter is) and a May 1^st release (of course, those dates might change! *bites nails*).   

You can find updates on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, right here at Addicted toWords, and candieleighcampbell.com

To Three or Not to Three: The Coordination of the Series

The coordination of the series is a delicate, and almost controversial, subject; because it involves the ever sneaky use and placement of that dastardly little punctuation mark we call the comma. To coordinate the structure of a sentence using three or more components one must first use caution and become fully aware that there will be commas involved.

In academia, the rules are simple; a comma is always required when coordinating a series of three or more components. For example:

   There are five different types of lettuce: Butterhead, Crisphead, Looseleaf, Romaine, and Celtuce.

Note that due to the excessive number of lettuce types, it is impossible to avoid using a comma when creating the series. However, if one wishes to be more specific when mentioning the various kinds of lettuce, and some of their unique characteristics, one could avoid the use of commas completely.  

   Butterhead and Crisphead types of lettuce have crisp leaves that form compact hearts.

   Looseleaf and Romaine types grow best in cool weather and do not form significant hearts.

Although, commas are not as sneaky as they would have us think, they – unlike decent poker players – have a tell. The presence of an upcoming comma can be heard like an air raid siren if one knows what to listen for. In a series where three or more parallel coordinate elements are present, one can hear the slight change in pitch – the warning – that a comma is coming and then, there it is—the pause, the telltale sign that a comma has been used.

Nevertheless, beware the renegade! There are those who will omit the comma from the three-or-more rule in an attempt to dash those pesky smudges that dirty up a perfectly good piece of writing. They are the rebels of the literary world, the rule breakers, and the hoodlums, out to make a writer’s job even more complicated than it already is. But, do not be fooled lest your grades will suffer. Do not leave out the serial comma before the coordinating conjunction, it is but a trap.

The Writer’s Maze: What a Zoo!

Hi Ho to all of you monkeys hangin' around this zoo!

If you’re here, you’re probably a writer and you know exactly what I’m talking about (or very lost and wondering what the hell is going on). 

Last week the family and I went to the zoo and it got me thinking that each of the beasts, those wild animals held captive in their domestic prisons, is like a writer. 

The writer longs to be free of the chains and enclosures caging us in (don’t miss The Writer’s Maze: WiPs and Chains). We want to be free, to run untamed through the jungle of publishing rules and laws, a.k.a. THE WRITER’S MAZE! But like the zoo, though it is beautiful and orderly to look at, the rules of writing try to control and tame the writer’s heart. 

Yes, there should be boundaries and standards of acceptable writing, but when and how can we writers escape the confines of these laws and get away with it? Let’s look at The Road a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Cormac McCarthy. 

McCarthy is a lion of the writing jungle. He dared to ignore almost every writing law in existence and he got away with it. For those of you who’ve read The Road you know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s choppy, it’s grammatically incorrect to the extreme, heck he doesn’t even use punctuation. Many people have pondered why he wrote the novel this way, was it to add to the discomfort the characters were feeling? It certainly made me uncomfortable reading it.

Does that mean we, as writers, can follow in McCarthy’s footsteps and get published? Win a Pulitzer? Maybe. What I mean is, are we a lion like McCarthy? I know I’m not. I’m more like this guy…

 

...not the cutest bird in the world, but my song is sweet.

I’m exotic, yes. I’m different, I’ll give you that. But I only vaguely resemble the rest of my writer species. My writing is more like a bird on a wire than a lion on the prowl. If I tried to break all of the rules McCarthy did it wouldn’t work for me. I couldn’t even live in the same enclosure with a lion let alone try to be one.

That’s why we need the zoo and the zoo keepers. The zoo, rules of good writing, maintains the standard. However, what the zoo cannot do is determine how and why a certain literary work has the IT factor. Now, the zoo keepers, the editors, agents and publishers, remind us daily that even though we must conform to their rules and live with our own kind, they still want us to remember that we are wild.

Now, you might be the type of writer who thinks, eh, writing is easy. Any monkey can do it…if they follow the rules. And though that might be true, it doesn’t mean any monkey can climb to the top of the New York Times Best Seller list. 

The zoo works because of the regulations and environments it provides for the wellbeing of the public, but if we animals (i.e. writers) were to become too complacent and docile no one would want to visit us. The zoo is the best of both worlds. It is a collaboration of dangerous predators and the sweet songs of the canaries presented together in a picturesque and stimulating setting (i.e. books). 

After all, that is the goal, yes? To see our writing tamed and corralled along the shelves of many, many bookstores? I know that’s my goal. Like my fat, long-beaked bird, I pick and gather the twigs and moss of literary dos and don’ts, trying to force my natural tendencies to conform. At times I do still feel as though my wings are clipped, but for the most part I’ve learned to fly up one branch at time.

Maybe one day, the monkeys will be trying to catch us birds. 

Wow! What a Cover! GIRL ON THE GOLDEN COIN: A NOVEL OF FRANCES STUART by Marci Jefferson

 

GIRL ON THE GOLDEN COIN: A NOVEL OF FRANCES STUART

Marci Jefferson’s first novel is about Frances Stuart, who rejected three kings and graced England’s coins for generations as the model for Britannia. The book will release February 11, 2014 from Thomas Dunne Books / St. Martin’s Press. But pre-order this week and comment on Marci’s blog for a chance to win a pair of sterling-silver pearl-drop earrings like the ones Frances wears on this elegant cover (be prepared to present your receipt).

Marci's Blog 

MORE ABOUT THE BOOK

Impoverished and exiled to the French countryside after the overthrow of the English Crown, Frances Stuart survives merely by her blood-relation to the Stuart Royals. But in 1660, the Restoration of Stuart Monarchy in England returns her family to favor. Frances discards threadbare gowns and springs to gilded Fontainebleau Palace, where she soon catches King Louis XIV’s eye. But Frances is no ordinary court beauty, she has Stuart secrets to keep and people to protect. The king turns vengeful when she rejects his offer to become his Official Mistress. He banishes her to England with orders to seduce King Charles II and stop a war.

Armed in pearls and silk, Frances maneuvers through the political turbulence of Whitehall Palace, but still can’t afford to stir a scandal. Her tactic to inspire King Charles to greatness captivates him. He believes her love can make him an honest man and even chooses Frances to pose as Britannia for England’s coins. Frances survives the Great Fire, the Great Plague, and the debauchery of the Restoration Court, yet loses her heart to the very king she must control. Until she is forced to choose between love or war.

On the eve of England’s Glorious Revolution, James II forces Frances to decide whether to remain loyal to her Stuart heritage or, like England, make her stand for Liberty. Her portrait as Britannia is minted on every copper coin. There she remains for generations, an enduring symbol of Britain’s independent spirit and her own struggle for freedom.

ADVANCE PRAISE

"In her wonderfully evocative debut, Girl on the Golden Coin, Marci Jefferson recreates the fascinating story of Frances Stuart, whose influence over England's Charles II became the talk of a nation. As vibrant and delightful as the woman it's based on, Girl on the Golden Coin is a jewel of a novel!"

—Michelle Moran, New York Times bestselling author of The Second Empress and Madame Tussaud

"Beauty is not always a blessing, as young Frances Stuart finds out when her lovely face pits her between the desires and politics of rival kings Louis XIV and Charles II. Frances makes an appealing heroine, by turns wary and passionate, sophisticated and innocent, as she matures from destitute young pawn to the majestic duchess whose figure would grace Britain's coins for centuries. Her struggles to support her loved ones, uncover her family secrets, and somehow find a life of her own amid the snake-pit courts of the Sun King and the Merry Monarch make for lively, entertaining reading in this lush Restoration novel by debut author Marci Jefferson."

—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of Mistress of Rome

"Girl on the Golden Coin is a fantastic novel. I couldn’t put it down. The plot is fast-paced and compelling, with intriguing characters, lush settings and captivating narrative voice. Jefferson’s debut paints an intriguing portrait of Frances Stuart, a novel worthy of the determined, golden spirit of the woman whose face became the model for Britannia herself."

—Susan Spann, author of Claws of the Cat

“Girl on the Golden Coin is a sexy, exciting tale featuring vivid characters, rich historical detail, scintillating court intrigue, and a complexly rendered heroine in Frances Stuart, Maid of Honor to the Queen of England, who will capture the reader’s heart -- as will the man she loves, that rascal King Charles II.”

-- Sherry Jones, author, FOUR SISTERS, ALL QUEENS

FIND IT HERE:

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