Stuff
Oh my, it's been a few days, huh? I've been trying to keep up with the COM (for those who don't know, it's a sort of writing exercise happening on Miss Snark's blog) and everyone's blogs but I confess I've been so busy. I know I owe some emails (one of you in particular, I'm sorry) but I swear, I've barely had a minute to myself.
And my email load has gone up sharply, too. I've been lucky enough to have several people email me to congratulate me on the COM, or to say thanks, or to say something nice about my comments in general, which was absolutely lovely. So despite the busyness I've had a really nice week!
Oh, and I have been anointed "Queen of Blow-Job Fiction". The anointer (someone I argued with at the AW forums) was trying to be rude and nasty, but I think it's a pretty cool compliment. Who wouldn't want to be Queen? And what's wrong with blow-job fiction?
I confess, though, I'm burning out on the COM. I don't know how Miss S, or any other agent, does it. This is the clearest look at a real agent's slushpile I think I've ever seen, and it's amazing they manage to slog through it all. Granted, I do think it's harder on a computer screen, but still. Wow. How many has she actually requested pages on, out of the 400 she's done? 25, maybe? 50 or 60 tops? Has anyone been counting?
It makes me a little sad, too, the number of entries that end up with no comments, or only one or two. People who've put their heart into those hooks, and not only does Miss S not find it interesting, nobody else does either.
And of course I'm terribly worried about my 750 words. I decided after getting the request that my opening needed to be rewritten, to get the "dead body" right in at the start. So I scrapped about the first 1000 words or so and made the fifth page or so the beginning, and I do hope it works. After the new year I need to redo the whole first chapter so I can get the essential backstory in.
And I'm rereading a bunch of Maeve Binchy books. I do love her books. They're very soothing, which is just what I need this time of year.
More tomorrow. Rants, plus an early New Year's Resolution that will be easy to keep. In fact, it will be part of a resolution challenge, where I'll try to force all of you to do it with me and we'll discuss it throughout the year. (It's to do with books, not weight loss or giving up fuckwords or anything dull like that.)
7 comments:
"Queen of Blow-Job Fiction", huh? Well, there's no such thing as bad press. :) The crapometer was highly entertaining and informative today. I've noticed confirmation of somthing I've long suspected: if you write pulp fiction, today's agents do not get hooked no matter if the writing's good, or the hook is sharp. The Snark overlooked cliches in other hooks, but never in the pulp fiction ones. They either garnered a 'yawn' or some other Snarkism. If you think keelhauling the first thousand words of your novel helps, great; but think twice before you do it just to fit in at Snark Central. :) I wonder if any pulp fiction genre gets read today in a commercial way by agents, or simply dismissed after the first skim. Merry Christmas to you and your family, December!
If I haven't already said it...a joyous Christmas to you and yours, December.
No such thing as bad press is right, Bernard! No, I didn't do it just to make the pages Snarkworthy--I'd been thinking for a while I might need to remove the beginning bit, as it wasn't as exciting and had a lot of setup.
I didn't notice the lack of interest in pulp fiction, but I wasn't really paying attention to genre. I'll have to go back and look again.
Merry Christmas to you and yours, as well!
And to you, Bernita!
Hail to the queen, baby.
I would take it as a compliment as well, DQ. The fact that you take it as such is probably really pissing that person off, too, which is just fine.
hvxbkbsr--now that's a bit excessive, dontcha think?
Writing that induces emotions, regardless of the emotions, is good writing. If you piss people off, make them happy, make them cry, make them hate you, that's good in my book. If people react to your writing with a shrug or do not react at all, then you have a problem.
I would've sworn I met the BJ Queen years ago in Rapid City . . . -JTC
December Quinn,
I'm so glad to hear you sympathize with the plight of lonely, uncommented-upon wallflower hooks. I felt exactly the same way, but as you note, the sheer workload of simply slogging through oodles of hooks is stultifying. I think the first fifty or so got the most feedback, though also some of the cruelest and least useful.
" ...and I have been anointed "Queen of Blow-Job Fiction". "
Now that's a crown I'd like to see.
Well what's that mean? You write lots of BJ scenes?? Something wrong with that?
Hope you had a Merry Christmas over there in sexy Englishman land!
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