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.
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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.
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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.
November 23rd, 2009
Just as I was about to start my first read-through of Hubris (and still am), I received another partial request from an agent interested in The Northerners. I was just about ready to give up on querying The Northerners – I was even saying so as I opened the envelope, since I was convinced it was another rejection – but once again I spoke too soon. Of course, as I’ve learned, a partial request only means that I’ve gone from about a 99% chance of rejection to more like a 90% chance of rejection, but hey, I’ll take it.
Thanks to this agent, I’ve learned something new: some agents actually do reply positively via mail. I’ve heard some authors advise you to not bother including a self-addressed stamped envelope with your query; it’s a sign of self-respect, they say, and if the agent is really interested they’ll call you or email you, since they only use the SASE for rejections. Well, here’s a nice counter-example. Now this advice is not just questionable, but demonstrably wrong.
I was never really convinced by the no-SASE argument. Even if the agent only wants the SASE for rejections, why would you want to immediately antagonize them? When you’re just another unsolicited query in a big slush pile, you’ve got enough going against you as it is. There’s nothing wrong with being professional and giving the agent what they asked for.
Anyway, we’ll see where this leads. This has renewed my faith in the querying process if nothing else. I’ll keep my fingers crossed, but meanwhile I’ve got Hubris to read and revise. Let’s hope it’s worth shopping around.
November 20th, 2009
I’m re-reading the Harry Potter series from start to finish in the name of over-analysis. Spoilers ahoy.
The Vanishing Glass
Ten years have passed since the first chapter. Harry is still living with the Dursleys, who make him sleep in a spider-infested cupboard and generally treat him like crap. Harry’s tendency to subconsciously make use of his latent magical abilities doesn’t help matters. It’s Dudley’s birthday, and thanks to unusual circumstances, the Dursleys begrudgingly allow Harry to come to the zoo with them. Harry manages to have a good time until he accidentally frees a boa constrictor from its cage, which earns him yet another harsh punishment. Locked up in his cupboard, he speculates as to why strange things keep happening around him, and why he regularly meets oddly-dressed people who treat him with reverence before abruptly disappearing.
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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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