Finally, I think I get it. At this weekends' retreat I had an opportunity to talk about career planning with Michelle Garjkowski, writing multiple genres with Stephanie Rowe, and plot with Janice Kay Johnson. Michelle helped me see that I need to keep my long term goal (a page of other books by titles) in mind with every decision. Stephanie probably meant to broadn my horizons, but for now I'm sticking to one genre until I feel I have a handle on it. (I can always play in my short stories.) Janice Kay opened my mind to what has been snagging my career.
I told her the basic plot of the heiress/cowboy book, the whole thing in 60 seconds. She immediately saw the same issues my editor did, but explained to me WHY the issues ruined the story. "They aren't steering the ship." She said more, but those words wrapped around my mind and wouldn't let go.
If a story is a river from the cute meat to happily ever after, your couple either floats along with the current (external conflict) or paddles (internal conflict). I get my characters in the boat, I get them down the river, but I haven't been packing oars in the string of rejected boats. That is the difference between what has sold (or garnered agent/editor attention) and what the lovely editor knew at a partail stage wasn't going to float.
Now I know...and need to chat up my editor to see if I have this right, or have been thinking too much. Again.
6 comments:
I have been known to think too much...but at this point (book two has been in the hands of fab agent and then fab editors for almost six months...) I am allowed to think too much. Glad you had fun on the retreat. Believe, I wish I were there.
Teri
'cute meat????'
Yeah, well...I can't type :D
"your couple either floats along with the current (external conflict) or paddles (internal conflict). I get my characters in the boat, I get them down the river, but I haven't been packing oars in the string of rejected boats"
So have i got this right. Does that mean that everything needs to be caused by characters doing stuff rather than it just happening to them?
That's what I'm hearing from my editor :) She'll be so excited when we do chat. Every rejection she thinks she's explained to me why, even using examples from my previous books of what I did right, but I didn't get it until now. Maybe I have a thinkc skull?
I can't wait until the retreat I'm going to in April. Should be a good time.
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