Thursday, May 12
Six months on the edge
Turns out I do have something to say: I just counted on my fingers and realized that today, May 12, is the six-month anniversary of the Edge of Nowhere.
This would be an appropriate time to take stock of what its accomplished, if I'm any closer to my goals, and my natural first reaction is nothing, I'm not. But wait. I am closer. Look at what I've done since November 12:
+ I finished the first draft of a novel that might be called The Edge of Nowhere (a working title at least), which is the magical memoir of 83-year-old Irene Reynolds, whose quiet death-bed reminiscing is interrupted by the arrival of a dreamy stranger, while her son and daughter-in-law confront their impassive suburban lives in different ways. While her son Brad considers and pursues a crush on a newcomer to his office, his wife launches an art-film theater and live music stage in an abandoned Quonset hut in Utopia, Colorado. (That's the first draft of a pitch for it....how's it sound?)
+ I met three or four times with fellow area novelists to try something new: a writer's group of which I've always been leery. We meet again in about ten days to celebrate one of our group's sending of his novel to a New York agent and (with luck) my sending off a query and the first 30 pages to another agent.
+ I attended a writer's conference and pitched a novel to a literary agent, who wants to see some pages of a different novel I pitched.
+ I learned the natural/appropriate process for seeking a literary agent at said writer's conference.
+ I read/edited a friend's novel, which was a great learning process for myself.
+ I've read (probably) 30 novels with an eye on style, tone, plot, voice and technique.
+ My brother read and gave me feedback on yet another of my novels, Balance (pitch yet to be developed) which really made me feel like I've got a chance, that this practice isn't entirely pointless.
+ And I started a very public process (namely this blog) of keeping the world (or at least three dedicated readers and myself) appraised of my quest to finish a novel, find an agent and get it published.
So -- shoot: Progress! Congratulate me. Let's have a party!
This would be an appropriate time to take stock of what its accomplished, if I'm any closer to my goals, and my natural first reaction is nothing, I'm not. But wait. I am closer. Look at what I've done since November 12:
+ I finished the first draft of a novel that might be called The Edge of Nowhere (a working title at least), which is the magical memoir of 83-year-old Irene Reynolds, whose quiet death-bed reminiscing is interrupted by the arrival of a dreamy stranger, while her son and daughter-in-law confront their impassive suburban lives in different ways. While her son Brad considers and pursues a crush on a newcomer to his office, his wife launches an art-film theater and live music stage in an abandoned Quonset hut in Utopia, Colorado. (That's the first draft of a pitch for it....how's it sound?)
+ I met three or four times with fellow area novelists to try something new: a writer's group of which I've always been leery. We meet again in about ten days to celebrate one of our group's sending of his novel to a New York agent and (with luck) my sending off a query and the first 30 pages to another agent.
+ I attended a writer's conference and pitched a novel to a literary agent, who wants to see some pages of a different novel I pitched.
+ I learned the natural/appropriate process for seeking a literary agent at said writer's conference.
+ I read/edited a friend's novel, which was a great learning process for myself.
+ I've read (probably) 30 novels with an eye on style, tone, plot, voice and technique.
+ My brother read and gave me feedback on yet another of my novels, Balance (pitch yet to be developed) which really made me feel like I've got a chance, that this practice isn't entirely pointless.
+ And I started a very public process (namely this blog) of keeping the world (or at least three dedicated readers and myself) appraised of my quest to finish a novel, find an agent and get it published.
So -- shoot: Progress! Congratulate me. Let's have a party!
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Uh oh, so much for the list of projects he was s'posed to get done this weekend while Daniel and I are down watching hot air balloons!
Thanks, Eric!
Terry
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Thanks, Eric!
Terry
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