Amaryllis

I've been taking a lot of pictures of our amaryllis. I like to shoot light through petals. 

Sunlit Ice 2

This is the same ice formation, but more of a closeup.

Sunlit Ice 1

Sunday

It's time for some color. 

Between the Ice Storm and the Blizzard

You can see where the cartoon bunny ran through this ice formation.

I'm getting a little tired of photographing ice - and it's only January.

Comparative Titles

To compare or not to compare, that is the query question. 

Cons:

• Everyone thinks his book is unique.
• Comparing oneself to Harry Potter/Twilight/Hunger Games feels both pretentious and preposterous. 

Pros:

• Mentioning other books in your genre shows you’ve done your homework – by reading.
• Complimenting other authors is gracious. 

To be honest, I’ve never compared my manuscripts to published works in any of the many queries I’ve written even though some agents request a title comparison.  

Determining the characteristics of a manuscript can be tricky. Humor is in the ear of the beholder. Saying a novel is sweet feels cloying, while describing it as edgy sounds like the author is trying too hard to be teen-like. You get my drift.

I went through my Goodreads list to search for books that share qualities with my novel. I was particularly interested in recent debut novels that had made a splash or books by established authors that were solid sellers, but not blockbusters. 

Saying something along the lines of “[My title] will appeal to readers who enjoyed [characteristic] in [novel title] by [author], [publisher, date]” is less off-putting than claiming my manuscript is the next The Da Vinci Code.

Overheard #270

“You do a great job with air.”

The Query Critique

I entered a contest on the YA Fusion blog and won a query critique from Manuscript Critique Services. My awesome critique was from Paula Stokes. Here are some of the things I learned. 

The novel summary should follow the emotional sweep of the novel. It’s easy for me to succinctly summarize the plot points, but especially with action novels, the character arc is key. 

Aim for 250-300 words for the plot summary. While many query-writing experts expound on the benefits of an elevator pitch and caution against more than 50 words or three sentences, nearly every positive example of a compelling query falls within this longer limit. 

Include enough of the plot so the story makes sense. A seemingly unrelated string of events is not interesting. The reader needs to know why the character is doing things. See the first point. 

Don’t forget the hook. What is interesting about the novel? Why should an editor or agent scroll down to look at those first five pages?

I highly recommend Manuscript Critique Services.

Ice Storm 3

I'm an entire winter storm behind on my photographic record of winter. Currently, we have feet of snow.

The sun shining on the ice drips looked like Christmas lights.

a little snow and early morning light

Ice Storm 2

Norway spruce
I like the way the ice magnifies the needles.

maple buds

 crabapples (taken with the flash)

more maple buds (taken with the flash)

Happy New Year!

Ice Storm 1

I starting to sort through the many pictures I took of the ice storm. Here's a few. More will follow. 

 

crabapple

rose

 

maple (I think)

Warm and Wonderful

Due to an ice storm, we lost power for three days. The electricity came back last night, and the house is now up to normal temperatures. I took pictures of the ice but haven't looked at them yet because I was conserving my laptop battery. For the same reason, I haven't yet responded to comments on blog posts.

I gained a lot of experience in pioneer living. Maybe my next project will be historical fiction.

I wish you a warm and wonderful holiday.

Overheard #269

"Put down the semicolon, and nobody gets hurt."

Postcard from Santa

First of all, thank you, Gina and Juliet, for featuring one of my pictures on City Muse Country Muse.

Yesterday’s mail included a postcard that read “That thing you are writing is awesome!” The return address was SANTA, handwritten in block letters. For a second, I thought one of my writing friends had sent some much-needed encouragement. Then I realized the postcard was an advertisement from a tutoring service in Ann Arbor. 

The experience made me realize two things. 

1. Everybody needs a boost. People (myself included) don’t acknowledge friends’ talents and accomplishments often enough.
2. Faint praise and vague criticism are not helpful. People (myself included) should be as specific as possible in both praise and writing critiques.  

"Baby, It's Cold Outside"

hoarfrost 

(I might need a different lens to get a better picture.)

Canada geese

(I definitely need a different lens to get a better picture.)

Sunday

maple leaf under ice

The ice formation on the left looks like a hummingbird to me.

Confession: I adjusted the contrast on this one.

I wore what I call grocery-store-gloves, the little knit one-size-fits-all gloves, under my mittens, then removed the mittens to use the camera. I was able to adjust the settings on my camera while wearing the thin gloves, and my fingers were only a little chilled. Some of my artist friends wear silk glove liners when sketching in the cold. I may try those as well.

Overheard #268

"We'd rather get used to something we like."

I'm on Wordless Wednesday Again

Click on over to City Muse Country Muse. Juliet and Gina featured one of my pictures yesterday for their Wordless Wednesday feature.

Overheard #268

"You know as well as I do that I don't know what I want."

Writing Days

Today I’m off to the café of a local independent bookstore to have a writing day with at least one member of my critique group. These writing days are invariably productive. Sitting across from hard-working people tends to keep my brain on task. Also, going to a different writing location not only removes household distractions but somehow inspires new ideas. 

I’m currently working on a hard-copy revision. I print my novel then correct it with a red pen. Some problems are more obvious on the printed page than on the screen. I hope to get through the last third of the manuscript today.