Yesterday I emailed my manuscript to Sharyn, my supervisor, who will now send it off to the manuscript assessment service.
The assessment process will probably take about 6 to 8 weeks, so it should be ready for me to get into just after I come back from New York.
I'm pretty happy with Girl in the Shadows as it is at the moment, but I'm sure that the assessors will find plenty to pick on. I haven't read the manuscript as a whole since I rewrote the ending, for example, so they may find some disjoint between the beginning, middle and end.
I do know that both Mal and Tash, the main characters, go through a lot through the course of the narrative, so it's natural for them to change. (And isn't that what a good story should be about - how people change and what makes them change). But in any manuscript there's so much to think about - plot, character, style, structure and more - it's hard to keep a handle on everything.
What I'm looking for from the manuscript assessment process is some clear direction on where the manuscript can be improved and how much more work needs to be done before it's at publishing standard. If I can get that out of it, I'll be happy.
And now, I suppose, I should focus on writing the exegesis. I wonder how I'll motivate myself to get back into that?
20 August 2007
15 August 2007
Finishing deja vu
Yay! I've finished - again...
How many times have I 'finished' this manuscript? I've lost count. Maybe it's not finished until it's printed and in the stores. Which means, I may never finish...
Oh well, it's finished for now with a brand new ending & a modified beginning. The opening lines of the first chapter that I posted here months ago no longer exist. The manuscript is also longer - just over 44,500 words now. That makes it the longest manuscript I've written (not sure what that means, maybe I can focus for longer?)
Anyway, now, I hope, it's finally ready to send to the manuscript appraisal service. I may do one more read through before I send it. If I can do that this coming weekend then I can get Sharyn to send it off next week.
So it's done. Again. For now.
I suppose that means I should start working on the exegesis again. If only I could remember what I have to write in it...
How many times have I 'finished' this manuscript? I've lost count. Maybe it's not finished until it's printed and in the stores. Which means, I may never finish...
Oh well, it's finished for now with a brand new ending & a modified beginning. The opening lines of the first chapter that I posted here months ago no longer exist. The manuscript is also longer - just over 44,500 words now. That makes it the longest manuscript I've written (not sure what that means, maybe I can focus for longer?)
Anyway, now, I hope, it's finally ready to send to the manuscript appraisal service. I may do one more read through before I send it. If I can do that this coming weekend then I can get Sharyn to send it off next week.
So it's done. Again. For now.
I suppose that means I should start working on the exegesis again. If only I could remember what I have to write in it...
13 August 2007
Can I end the ending?
Endings are difficult. I spent another 5 or 6 hours on the ending on the weekend and it's still not done. Maybe I'm being impatient. But I really want the ending to work and the fact is that, after the climax, both Mal and Tash are different people; what they've been through is a life changing event.
For Tash it's life changing because she's left home and cut off all contact with her parents. They know she's alive and that's all. She's living with Katie, so isn't totally alone, but has suffered huge mental distress and is now adjusting to living life as an adult, even though she's only just turned 16.
Mal's life has changed, too. Perhaps not as dramatically as Tash's has changed, but certainly the dynamics between them are different. Mal usually followed Tash's lead. Now Mal has seen just how vulnerable Tash is, that she isn't the perfect girl (& she still doesn't know the whole truth yet).
Following the path of your characters' lives is a journey and you have to watch that you're allowing your characters to grow and letting them speak for themselves. When they've changed so much you have to really focus to tune into their matured voices. As usual, the best way to deal with it is to just shut up and listen.
I'm very close to ending Mal and Tash's story. But I can't rush it because I must be true to them and their experiences. I have to pay very close attention to make sure I get it right.
For Tash it's life changing because she's left home and cut off all contact with her parents. They know she's alive and that's all. She's living with Katie, so isn't totally alone, but has suffered huge mental distress and is now adjusting to living life as an adult, even though she's only just turned 16.
Mal's life has changed, too. Perhaps not as dramatically as Tash's has changed, but certainly the dynamics between them are different. Mal usually followed Tash's lead. Now Mal has seen just how vulnerable Tash is, that she isn't the perfect girl (& she still doesn't know the whole truth yet).
Following the path of your characters' lives is a journey and you have to watch that you're allowing your characters to grow and letting them speak for themselves. When they've changed so much you have to really focus to tune into their matured voices. As usual, the best way to deal with it is to just shut up and listen.
I'm very close to ending Mal and Tash's story. But I can't rush it because I must be true to them and their experiences. I have to pay very close attention to make sure I get it right.
6 August 2007
A new ending
I got my new 'climax' for Girl in the Shadows critiqued by the group last Friday, and as always they gave me really useful feedback.
On the weekend I used the feedback to edit the story climax then I got stuck into writing a new ending. Basically, now that the climax has changed, the entire ending has to be rewritten as well.
It's hard to do. I had to force myself to sit at the keyboard and get the words out. But after perservering I wrote about 2500 words, which I suppose is okay for a day's work.
It does drive me a bit crazy that every time I think this manuscript is just about done I find a whole heap more I can do to it. But I know this ending is much stronger because it brings the reader right into the action.
Last Friday we also had a visit from Leonie Tyle, the young adult fiction editor at UQP. She was fantastic (was even polite enough to say she remembered my manuscript Rat City that she rejected back in 2004). She also gave us all a chance to pitch our stories to her, which was a great opportunity. She was interested in all our work and asked some useful questions about our manuscripts. She was particularly interested in the character of Tash's father and the reasons why he did what he did to her.
In terms of what I wanted to achieve from this master's course (good feedback, a writing support group and access to industry professionals) I've already gained much more than I anticipated. It's really helped my development as a writer. And hopefully it will lead to publication (Leonie asked us all to send her our manuscripts when they're ready).
All in all, writing wise, it's been a good week.
On the weekend I used the feedback to edit the story climax then I got stuck into writing a new ending. Basically, now that the climax has changed, the entire ending has to be rewritten as well.
It's hard to do. I had to force myself to sit at the keyboard and get the words out. But after perservering I wrote about 2500 words, which I suppose is okay for a day's work.
It does drive me a bit crazy that every time I think this manuscript is just about done I find a whole heap more I can do to it. But I know this ending is much stronger because it brings the reader right into the action.
Last Friday we also had a visit from Leonie Tyle, the young adult fiction editor at UQP. She was fantastic (was even polite enough to say she remembered my manuscript Rat City that she rejected back in 2004). She also gave us all a chance to pitch our stories to her, which was a great opportunity. She was interested in all our work and asked some useful questions about our manuscripts. She was particularly interested in the character of Tash's father and the reasons why he did what he did to her.
In terms of what I wanted to achieve from this master's course (good feedback, a writing support group and access to industry professionals) I've already gained much more than I anticipated. It's really helped my development as a writer. And hopefully it will lead to publication (Leonie asked us all to send her our manuscripts when they're ready).
All in all, writing wise, it's been a good week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)