January 14th, 2010
Last night I finished my first big revision of Hubris. There were only a couple of major changes: I had to do a complete rewrite of the critical first page, remove the second chapter and place its exposition much later in the story, and cut out about a third of one lengthy middle chapter. I ended up cutting out more than I added, so this draft is about 2500 words shorter than the last. The whole process was slow and sometimes grueling. I don’t like revising, and I never will, but it feels great to have it finished.
The manuscript is now ready (I hope) for the scrutiny of my beta readers: my girlfriend, friends, and family. We’ll see what they have to say. I’m quite proud of the story; it’s a lot more ambitious than my first two novels, and I think the end result is more accessible and compelling. But I’m way too close to the text now. I need a few outside perspectives before I can do any more work on it.
So, now I can relax and spend the next few months on my other projects, or just on reading, watching movies and playing video games. I feel like I’m on vacation.
In related news, I got a rejection letter from the agent who was interested in The Northerners. But! This was a good rejection, because he called it a “near miss” and said he liked my writing, but just wasn’t interested in this particular story. He encouraged me to send him my next novel, and I will.
So The Northerners is not likely to get published anytime soon, but all that querying was still worth it. I went from having no contacts or prospects to having two agents who explicitly asked me to send them my next book. If my beta readers really like it, including my writing-inclined acquaintances who I can count on to be demanding*, I might be querying again as soon as this summer. We shall see.
* Even if you have demanding friends, your best bet for unbiased criticism is to join a writing group. One of these days I’m going to follow that advice.
December 30th, 2009
I’m re-reading the Harry Potter series from start to finish in the name of over-analysis. Spoilers ahoy.
Diagon Alley
Hagrid escorts Harry back to the mainland and into London. There, Harry is introduced to Diagon Alley, a hidden magical thoroughfare where wizards and witches do all their shopping. He visits Gringotts, the heavily guarded wizards’ bank, and buys all his needed equipment for Hogwarts, including his magic wand. He also meets a fellow first-year who comes across as an elitist jerk. After his shopping is done, Hagrid takes Harry to King’s Cross station so he can board a train for home.
More…
December 3rd, 2009
I’m re-reading the Harry Potter series from start to finish in the name of over-analysis. Spoilers ahoy.
The Keeper of the Keys
Hagrid bashes down the door to the shack and presents Harry with a birthday cake, along with the letter that’s been trying so hard to get to him. The letter is an official acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Hagrid explains Harry’s true magical origins, and gives a little more information about Voldemort and his reign of terror. The Dursleys protest but Hagrid repeatedly shouts them down. When Uncle Vernon insults Dumbledore, Hagrid finally snaps and tries to turn Dudley into a pig. With the Dursleys cowering in the other room, Hagrid loans Harry his coat to sleep under.
More…
November 30th, 2009
I’m re-reading the Harry Potter series from start to finish in the name of over-analysis. Spoilers ahoy.
The Letters From No One
Harry receives a mysterious letter in the mail, but before he can read it, the Dursleys confiscate and burn it. More letters follow. Uncle Vernon nails up the mail slot, but the letters find their way through the cracks in the doors and even shoot down the chimney at high speed. An increasingly crazed Uncle Vernon takes the family on an impromptu road trip to escape the letters, which chase them across the country all the way to the coast. Uncle Vernon rents a shack on a tiny island, convinced that with the approaching storm, no one will be able to find them. Harry lies awake on the shack floor, counting down the minutes until his eleventh birthday, when suddenly he hears a loud knock on the door.
More…
November 27th, 2009
It’s done: the dreaded first readthrough of Hubris is finished. I don’t know if other writers find it as scary as I do to take a fresh look at their work; when I finished The Northerners, I had to make myself wait a full week before going over it, but now I could set a manuscript aside for months if I let myself. I guess now I know how much work still awaits me after a first draft, and I know how many warts I’ll have to confront when I finally pick up that fat stack of paper. It’s not my favorite part of the process.
But I have to say, I’m still pretty happy with my book. Yes, it needs work (often not in the places I expected), but there’s some real promise here. I really look forward to showing it to people. In other words, the last six months were not a complete waste of time, and that’s all I ask for at this point.
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I'm an aspiring author. These, dear Internet, are my ramblings.
Visit my home page at QuinnStephens.com.
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