My manuscript should be lying somewhere in a big pile of manuscripts at Text Publishing by now. I agonised over the synopsis and ended up changing it at the last minute and now I'm too chicken to go back and look at it again in case I see a big, ugly mistake staring out at me. It's gone now & that's that.
So now I have no excuse for not starting on my 'exegesis' (or thesis in normal language). I'm meeting with my supervisor next week to discuss it because to be honest I can't even remember what I'm supposed to write. Not only that, I haven't yet made a final decision on what other YA novels I'll discuss in relation to my own work. I have to choose at least one, preferably two. Last year I'd decided that I was going to use Surrender by Sonya Hartnett and Tulip Touch by Anne Fine. But I've been reading a fair bit of YA stuff lately and I'm wondering if they are the best choices.
Both Surrender and Tulip Touch feature characters who definitely have 'issues'. But other novel's I've read this year, including Freaky Green Eyes by Carol Joyce Oates and Solo by Alyssa Brugman are perhaps more in tune with my style of writing and the overall tone of Girl in the Shadows.
I think I'll just do some more reading in the genre and see what other gems I can find before I make my final choice.
26 July 2008
13 July 2008
Synopsis
To enter the Text Publishing young adult fiction competition, I have to come up with a 100 word synopsis for Girl in the Shadows. So far, I've put together three I'm reasonably happy with but I'm not sure which one works best. What do you think?
Synopsis A
What happens when you look in the mirror and see a face that isn't yours? You hope it's a nightmare, a horror story. But it's real. It's the part of you that you don't want anyone to know about. And it's not going anywhere.
When Tash first sees a strange girl's face staring back at her from the mirror, she and her best friend Mal think it's a ghost: a restless
relative, perhaps, or something more sinister. But the truth is more sinister than any ghost story ever could be. And it will send Tash to the edge of madness.
Synopsis B
Tash has good looks, brains and freedom: the perfect teenage life. But when she looks into her mirror, a stranger’s face stares back at her. Her best friend Mal believes it’s an evil spirit. But the chilling truth is not supernatural: it’s flesh and blood.
Spell books and ouija boards cannot fix a problem that comes from deep within the soul. It will take a journey to the edge of madness for Tash to face the truth inside her heart and see the evil that lurks in her home. And Mal’s love and courage to pull her back into life.
Synopsis C
What happens when you look in the mirror and see a face that isn't yours? Tash has everything a teenage girl could wish for: good looks, brains, beautiful home and freedom from her busy parents. But when she looks into her mirror, she sees the face of another girl staring back at her. Her best friend Mal believes it’s the spirit of a restless teenager looking for a new body to inhabit. But the truth is more chilling; and tarot cards, ouija boards and spells cannot fix a problem that comes from so deep within the heart.
Synopsis A
What happens when you look in the mirror and see a face that isn't yours? You hope it's a nightmare, a horror story. But it's real. It's the part of you that you don't want anyone to know about. And it's not going anywhere.
When Tash first sees a strange girl's face staring back at her from the mirror, she and her best friend Mal think it's a ghost: a restless
relative, perhaps, or something more sinister. But the truth is more sinister than any ghost story ever could be. And it will send Tash to the edge of madness.
Synopsis B
Tash has good looks, brains and freedom: the perfect teenage life. But when she looks into her mirror, a stranger’s face stares back at her. Her best friend Mal believes it’s an evil spirit. But the chilling truth is not supernatural: it’s flesh and blood.
Spell books and ouija boards cannot fix a problem that comes from deep within the soul. It will take a journey to the edge of madness for Tash to face the truth inside her heart and see the evil that lurks in her home. And Mal’s love and courage to pull her back into life.
Synopsis C
What happens when you look in the mirror and see a face that isn't yours? Tash has everything a teenage girl could wish for: good looks, brains, beautiful home and freedom from her busy parents. But when she looks into her mirror, she sees the face of another girl staring back at her. Her best friend Mal believes it’s the spirit of a restless teenager looking for a new body to inhabit. But the truth is more chilling; and tarot cards, ouija boards and spells cannot fix a problem that comes from so deep within the heart.
12 July 2008
Just a few things to tidy up
I've got feedback from my sister and also a younger reader (someone from the target audience) and so far, so good.
My sister picked up a few things for me to tidy up. Mostly it was things where new scenes didn't quite mesh with the old. But nothing too major - probably only about 5 hours work maximum. The younger reader really enjoyed it, too, which is a big bonus. She also gave me some great feedback to work on. Just a small thing - what happens to one of the minor characters - but important for me to follow up on.
So everything is on track for entering into the Text competition.
But now that I've officially re-enrolled in uni for this semester, soon it's going to be time to face the beast that is known as the 'exegesis'. Still haven't worked out why it's called that. Maybe because it's a task of Biblical proportions... But I suppose I'll just tackle it the same way I approached the novel manuscript. One step at a time.
My sister picked up a few things for me to tidy up. Mostly it was things where new scenes didn't quite mesh with the old. But nothing too major - probably only about 5 hours work maximum. The younger reader really enjoyed it, too, which is a big bonus. She also gave me some great feedback to work on. Just a small thing - what happens to one of the minor characters - but important for me to follow up on.
So everything is on track for entering into the Text competition.
But now that I've officially re-enrolled in uni for this semester, soon it's going to be time to face the beast that is known as the 'exegesis'. Still haven't worked out why it's called that. Maybe because it's a task of Biblical proportions... But I suppose I'll just tackle it the same way I approached the novel manuscript. One step at a time.
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