Emergency! Scene CPR

I managed to write for at least 3.5 hours yesterday. Well, writing is probably not the "right" word. What I did was start labeling my scenes in Scrivener. Oh yeah. That's a lot of fun (I did promise not to whine after having to do housework--this is me actively trying not to whine).

Any rate, why am I doing this? The first reason is I have a workshop to attend at Georgia Romance Writer's of America in Atlanta where I have to bring in different scene elements for critique and, yes, CPR. I know that Mary Buckham and Diana Love will apply major life saving techniques to my work because I have attended their BREAK INTO FICTION workshop and they are amazing teachers.

Note: If you see a workshop with their names as leaders, run, don't walk to the class. Their energy and enthusiasm and genuine desire to see YOU get to your publishing goal is outstanding. The cost, if any exists, is worth the price.

Here's what I am bringing to this workshop: four bits of my current WIP in Revision  scenes, primarily from the first 50 pages (the set up in Act 1). Why? Because if I can hammer out problems in the first 50 pages I will know what to do with the last 250 pages (give or take). And what does the first 50 pages bring to me? Oh yeah, do you see where this is going? Yes, three stars if you get this right.

Did you guess contest entries? You're right. Did you guess partial? Right again? Did you guess framework for synopsis? Yup.

A lot of talk and bandying about lately regarding the Golden Heart scores amongst those of us who didn't final and what I want to talk about is getting ready for the next contest. You see, I never entered the GH to final. I entered it to get a partial and synopsis ready. I don't care about my scores because they are meaningless to me. Why? Because I know that a person with a 3 book deal didn't final and got a 2 and a 9 on her tally. She was upset. Why? She's published. Who cares about the scores? They don't even matter if you DID FINAL. I know a finalist who got a 4.5 on her finaling manuscript (you can read about it on ROMANCE MAGICIANS blog) and she never won a Golden Heart but she's a NYT bestseller two years later and has a contract with Harlequin Presents!

But will knowing the scores don't matter and knowing that to final in the contest stop me from entering? Heck no! I want to play that roulette wheel and see if the magic combination of cool story and 5 judges who connect with it occurs. Talk about a JACKPOT! And I want to get the ball rolling that direction NOW. Because I am not going to be putting this puppy together in November again. No way. I want both my entries out the door, both with new titles and one in a new category, no later than October 31, 2010. It is NEVER too early to start preparing. You never know what curve balls life will throw at you.

So there you have it. I am mining my workshop mentors for serious CPR on my current WIP because I want to have 50 solid pages to enter in the GH (I'm entering two MS's again). I also want to have 30 solid pages and a new direction for my synopsis by the end of May. Why? The MAGGIES. I entered them. Now that's a tough contest to final in. I managed to do so once. I was thrilled. I got a lot of amazing feedback from the authors who judged my entry. I also got a lot of amazing feedback the year before on the same book (earlier version) and I utilized almost 95% of their suggestions.

Do you see where I am going with this? Oh yeah. The GRWA MAGGIE contest is, in my honest opinion and based on experience, one of the TOP contests to enter both for feedback and prestige. And when you enter, if you don't win or final or whatever, PAY HEED TO THE AUTHOR'S WORDS. They spend a lot of time critiquing your unpublished MS. They want to see you get published. They KNOW what sells. Their intentions are for good.

Note: If you have never entered the MAGGIES, get to the GRWA website NOW and enter. This will force you to write a partial and synopsis that will be judged by PUBLISHED authors. Their advice will help you. This is money well spent!

Now, yesterday I didn't pull together my scenes. I was still a bit in brainstorm mode about a cool idea I have for the current WIP and I also wanted to label my scenes in Scrivener because I need to see which ones will work in the new revision, where they really belong according to the tried and true Acts of story structure, and hunt for my pivotal plot points and where they might fall. I'm about half way through the process. As I went through the first half, I wrote a bit, made annotations thanks to my friend Gwen's wonderful Scrivener Tech Tuesday blog, and shifted some stuff around. Not much more than that.

Note: If you have a Mac, I highly recommend the SCRIVENER program for your writing needs. You will LOVE IT. Trust me. And it's cheap, too. Something we poor and struggling writers need to hear.

So that's what I'll be doing most of today (when I'm not running around with my Mom Hat on and getting forms signed for my DD's upcoming trip--I loathe errands--I am transferring all future whining to boring household duties and diets).

What contests have you entered? Why? Are you going to enter the Golden Heart again? How do you feel about getting started on the next big contest? Are you preparing for the RWA National Conference? It's in July. We have 3 months now to get a partial, query, synopsis and pitches ready for the conference. Now is the tine to get focused! These contests aren't about winning. Yeah, winning is nice. But what's more important is they force YOU, the writer, to get BICHOK (Butt in Chair, Hands on Keys) and to get serious about your writing.

My Writing Quilting Bee

I am slogging away at my revision three chapters at a time per my CP in VA's suggestion. Poof. Hard work. And I'm not hitting a timer or listening for the sand to drop through the hourglass as I work. Nope. Instead, I've found the revision is working out much like one might put together a quilt (my apologies to real quilters as all I know about quilting is the fabrics and what I read about them).

I have a huge bunch of fabric of work that I've carved into small scenes. I've bundled sets of scenes into chapters. I've color-coded the scenes according to hero (blue), heroine (pink), villain (yellow), chapters (pale cream) and unknown scenes/unwritten (white). What is super cool is that I have the MAC Scrivener program and it makes it very easy to see these things on the computer screen, shift them around and not lose a bit of my work in the process. 

Confession: I have an amazing CP (Gwen) who is a super guru tech whiz and she has tons of advice about Scrivener on her blog. Click the link and check out her Tech Tuesdays.

I print out my batches of scenes, edit them hard copy, make notes on them based on what I've read in Maass's books or had the muse send to me (by giving myself time to breath, I actually have found more inspiration and motivation to plow through the dreaded middle) and then I hit the computer and work till my brain fizzles out.

Confession: My brain seems to fizzle out after about 2 hours and then I jump start it with a wee dram of wine.

Today was cool because I could see the whole picture begin to emerge. Scrivener allows me to play and move whole scenes while on a cork board background. Ideas are starting to form. Strange directions are opening up. Now I didn't pound the keys endlessly. I stopped to email and ask questions about certain gun types as well as talk to my CPs in AL and VA. 

But it is coming together. My fabric bits are starting to make sense. I can see where I need to add more fabric or snip some away. I see where the stitching is too loose or too tight. I know the threads I need to pull out and I am picking out new threads to insert into the pattern.

The pattern is there, it's not all put together, but the pattern is starting to create a picture. Now I am excited about the revision.

Confession: I usually need to whine for about 6 chapters and joke around for about 2 of them before excitement kicks in.

*Warning: Whining does resume as I reach the Black Moment/Climax*

Tip Toe into the New Writing Structure

I am scrapping a quest to crank out 3 category books a year to focus on redefining the current WIP as I learn how to create a Single Title length book. Wow. I'm looking at the entire MS in a new light, and if it weren't for my CPs giving me their support, I think my head would pop off with all the changes I must implement as I *grow my book* and learn.

After meeting with one of my CPs in Birmingham, we agreed to give ourselves until the end of February to send each other our drafts for critique. She's working on a super cool book and I can't wait to read it. The few paragraphs I read already hooked me. Ooh, she's got more than one RS *romantic suspense* in her writing brain. I know it.

As for me? I'm not sure. I think I've more than one RS in me, but I'm leaning toward lighter, ST contemporary romances with suspenseful elements. I'll know more about where I'm heading after I finish this book. What will I miss writing? What will I love writing? What will I reveal about my own writing voice to myself? Oh, it's exciting!

Meanwhile, the task awaits. I'm committed to making the change. I'm committed to working hard. But this is new, and I'm tip toeing shyly into this writing sea. First, I started a new draft in WORD and renamed it TFC SINGLE TITLE 1 (third time through the plot--and I'm sure not the last time I'll rework it). Then I created a file in my trusty Scrivener program.

Back to basics. Import the doc. Thanks to my Southern CP, I learned short cut to making new scenes in the binder (whew). Then I made color coded the scene cards with MC's initials on them. I accidentally discovered a way to add notes to the doc and retrieve them in the scenes (this is how I learn a lot of new things when it comes to technology). I think this tool will be very helpful as I revise the MS.

I know this doesn't seem like a lot of writing, but it was good to see it all laid out. I know where there are gaps already. Now my Northern CP's critique will come into play as I forge ahead. I have a lot of decisions to make as I rewrite. Some of them will lead to major cutting. I loathe the idea, but I know I have to do it in order to make space for the new words.

I'll be honest. Reading this draft in bits and pieces, the part that's still more rough than polished, I wonder what the heck? But I refuse to wallow in the "I suck as a writer" mud. I refuse. I am learning. I am growing and I am taking on a challenge.

I am excited!

Synopsis Super Write In

I woke up with energy to burn for the first time in at least two weeks. In fact, I had forgotten what it was like to feel awake in the morning for at least two years. I just muddled through each day and did what had to be done regardless of my energy levels. 

So to have the oomph to go and tackle my dreaded synopsis was a great feeling!

First thing, take new medication. Second, I went through the MS and pulled out all my Pivotal Plot Points and noted them with extra tags. Man is it easy to zip back and forth throughout the document on Scrivener.  I also had to mark the black moments for my hero/heroine as well as my resolution. It is so quick to move and mark the various scenes with highlights in this program. I am glad I have it for all my future writing projects.

I read through my original synopsis, marked changes, and then reread my Craft Corner notes regarding how to build a good synopsis. I had a lot of work ahead of me. But I was determined to finish a good workable draft today. After I made sure I had info necessary regarding plot, I went back into Scrivener and highlighted passages I wanted to add to the synopsis to show my voice and build the story plot.

I imported my word doc into the Scrivener doc, into a separate folder, and then I cut and pasted the highlights into the doc. It was a snap to cut and move from each scene into the synopsis. No more scrolling through an entire doc, or pressing find and searching for a needle in a haystack. It's partitioned by scenes and chapters and I have the keywords noting PPPs and all the necessary plot points. Voila, I had a paper to edit.

I edited it. Cut and moved elements, tried to incorporate the GMC of my hero/heroine. And I finished. I then exported the doc over to Word and printed it. Less than five pages! Double spaced! I am sooooo happy. Now it's a matter of tweaking the echoes and fine tuning the grammar. 

I have a query letter, a synopsis, my first three chapters, and I am almost done! For Ellora's Cave I have to have a great end chapter, so I'll work on that on Monday.

By next Friday, I should be ready to query!!! Woohoo! 

Woohoo--Kiss Scene Attacked

Well I've been tackling a myriad of issues with the story this past week--a little in the AM and a little in the PM. AM I work on the MS and PM the query and/or synopsis. Given my health and all the doctor visits, I feel pretty pleased about my progress.

The kiss scene is addressed and changed. Not perfect. But my hero is not a sleaze anymore (at least not to me). I went through the first chapter with a great judge edit and then I hit it today with my own spin. Worked out well--I had distanced myself from it so it was easier to tackle.

I woke up with a lot rolling in my head re: this book and a tag line for the 4th book's query. Figure I may as well start laying down the groundwork for the next pitch/query now. Any rate, have an idea for a scene at the end so I jotted that down in scrivener. And then I wrote down and saved the tag. Then I worked on the kiss scene--yeah to sexual tension, not actual action. 

All and all a productive week for me. Whew.

Scrivener Keywords Equal Easy MS Navigation

I am very glad I trudged through the tutorial that came with this program. I learned one amazing trick: the keywords can be divided into subsets. I just went through the keyword menu and created CHARACTER, PLOT POINT, PHYSICAL ENCOUNTER folders. I move all the pertinent info into those folders and then here is what is wonderful. Want to know how often the character shows up? Go to the keyword in the subset and click on it. Then click search. Voila! All the scenes where that character shows up are visible o the story binder column. Then it's easy to traverse between each scene. Also it is easy to see if you have underused or overused a minor character. And for the plot points, when I click on the plot point in the keyword (this must be entered into the keyword section), the scene where the plot point unfolds pops up. 

Wow! How easy is that!!?? Pretty dang easy!

I've managed to add in setting to all the keywords for easy searches. Now I am ready to handle adding the hero/heroine elements of meetings, tension, contact, physical union. It'll be interesting to see how this tool can be refined for my future writing and new novels.

I'm extremely excited about BUILDING a story from scratch, or semi-scratch, in Scrivener. Right now I am backtracking and working out kinks with the 3rd MS, but, in subsequent books, it'll be from start to finish.

I LOVE THIS PROGRAM!! For more information about this cool program, visit the Scrivener website.

Derailed by Health Issues

Well on Monday I had stupid sebaceous cyst removed and it hurt like the dickens. Now the medication and the general discomfort, plus the knowledge that I am getting the dressing changed and it will hurt again today is weighing me down. I am not accomplishing anything except reading about writing, slight revisions, and learning to use Scrivener. Yesterday I didn't even do scrivener. Today I plan to do it a bit in the afternoon, but I am frustrated by the fact that the stupid printer won't allow me to print from the front tray due to the computer change. And I have read the manual on line, managed to figure it out twice, but haven't figured out how to make that default setting. So it is a huge pain. And then my CP has graciously sent me more pages with comments but for some reason all the comments are at the back of the story instead of woven throughout the story. ARGH.

I've got the third MS inputed. I know I need to work on a query and a synopsis as well. But I can't seem to wrap my brain around it. I think I will use a craft corner lesson on the bloody thing to get me started next Monday. I'll revise in the AM, do synopsis and query in the PM. Some of the places I am targeting don't require the first three chapters so I will send to them first. Meanwhile, hi ho hi ho... it's off to the doctor I go for my torture time.

Scrivener Tutorial

Due to a minor surgical procedure yesterday laying me up for a day, and a home inspector arriving this morning to give the thumbs up/or down/ about our home before the first year of the new home construction phase is finished, I didn't manage to write at all. Ah, the best laid plans of mice and....

Any rate, derailed, and bogged down by long phone chats (three--I feel special), I did the tutorial today and it has something about a split screen/edit cut and paste that I will attempt with my next import. I figure I may as well just import and play around with all the novels on the program at some point. The more I learn, the more proficient I will be in using this program.

Many things are exciting about the program and after reading the tutorial and playing with the buttons, dragging icons etc., I feel I have found the perfect first draft/revising tool for me. However, at the end of the day, the final product must be imported as a word document via a word processor. I think the writing program on my MAC will suffice, but I am asking my DH to partition my computer so I can still use Microsoft Word in my revisions.

I miss my comments and notes, in the sidebar of my WP document in Word, but I think I can overcome the grief very easily with all the other bells and whistles I gained with the Scrivener program.

Scrivener--Importing My MS

I decided to import my third MS/WIP into the Scrivener Program and play around with it. I know. I said I wasn't going to do it, but I took the plunge. First I did a blank, non-formatted document. Then I cut and pasted all my individual scenes into different folders. Then I called my CP and we spoke about it. She said she uses the Manuscript format. So I imported all I had worked on into the MS format for novels. Now I have folders and scenes cut and pasted but I am miffed because I have no idea how to use the program's specific formatted chapter headings and I've tried by playing around with various buttons and so forth, but to no avail.

A few things I found cumbersome:

*cutting and pasting (obviously) an entire doc into either the blank or formatted MS
*not being able to figure out how to add a "CHAPTER" formatted folder into the MS when if full edit mode
*not being able to get word count for total MS in MS format, but able to do this in Blank formatted doc (blah)
*clicking around from keynotes to the main body of the doc
*not sure how to undo erasing an entire amount of work as I was cutting and pasting, but easy to fix by going back to the imported scenes on blank format and copying and adding into the document later.

A few things I loved:

*seeing the notecards with the synopsis of each scene in the format as I worked. I wrote a synopsis for each scene (great memory tool!). It's easier to see how the story is progressing with these mini pictures on a cork board
*the ease I anticipate in the future of juggling the scenes
*working on an individual scene, focusing on the scene in it's own space before doing it in totality with the rest of the MS
*KEYNOTES -- while a pain to start them up, I have labeled each main character that is in the scene. I can go through and do a search for the characters and make sure there is balance or OOPS did I forget about one or three? I haven't done it for all of them, but as I revise I will add them in.
*I used the top of the scene card to note the setting in brief. Interesting to see where they are at a glance on the cork board view.

In a way, just going through the process of importing and reviewing each scene really set the stage for the next phase of this revision. The changes I make will be noted in the note cards. I think this will be easier to do from scratch, because less cutting and pasting, just adding and moving around. But the effort will be worth it. My CP LOVES it. And she and I write in similar styles, so far I see the benefits outweighing the negatives.

Scrivener--The First Step into a New Program

I got turned onto Scrivener by my CPs back in NoVA when they got their MACs. I loved the index card format and the way they could shift scenes on screen at a glance. Very very cool stuff. And it suits my style of writing as I am big into index cards and I like creating character profiles and more before I start my first draft. Every since I saw that program, I've coveted one. And then my daughter got the Macbook Pro as an 8th grade graduation gift and a "sorry we're moving you away from all your friends and your life bribe." And then I REALLY WANTED A MAC. But the HP stayed alive almost one more year. 

Now the death of the wireless card has set me free.

Loaded the Scrivener onto the computer on Friday. Instead of using my current WIP to learn the program's bells and whistles, I decided to play around with a crazy YA idea I've had for about a year and input my ideas as they came, randomly, onto the index cards and into the program. As it builds, I'll learn more about how to utilize the program. After I finish my WIP and query it, I will start using Scrivener to begin revising my 4th MS and I'll let you all know how that goes. I will start by inputting all my index cards and then add my scenes -- after I import the written document from my memory stick.

Scrivener seems intuitive to me, except without anyone else showing me the bells and whistles, there have been a few "learn by doing" mistakes. I accidentally lost a few index cards when I pushed a button. Oh well. But the "trash" doesn't empty automatically so I didn't really lose them. And the tutorial kept talking about a "snapshot" you can take of your work, but I didn't see that feature on the program. I'll look at the tutorial again and maybe this time I'll retain the information.

So far I have set up 6 cards. Each card can be custom labeled and given a color. I have character cards--attached to the main page next to the index card onscreen, concept cards, and cards about the specific subject matter. Each are color coded and each are labeled. You can see the entire set of cards on a corkboard via the "draft" button. That allows you to see the story as it is building at a glance. You can see it as an outline or each page individually. I will add scene cards as they come to me. Eventually I will need to separate out the categories so that all the scene cards are in their own document (I think). 

Stay tuned. I plan to add a few more cards/pages to my playing around story tonight. And after I get my 4th MS into the Scrivener program, I think it'll be fun to share how the process unfolds.

Happy Easter to Everyone!