It's a week since I got that rejection that devastated me and I've had a chance to cry about it and talk to my friends about it and slowly I'm getting some perspective on it.
I think it's a good idea for me to leave the manuscript alone for a while; not look at it and not submit it anywhere else. I need to get some distance from the manuscript and the whole project. Maybe by the end of the year I'll be able to get some objectivity about it and look at doing another rewrite. I could get another manuscript assessment done but there's probably not a lot that would achieve, especially as I have the examiners' comments to work with.
So for now, at least, Girl in the Shadows will remain tucked away from sight while I get my head around the reasons why I write and whether or not they are enough to keep me going.
Showing posts with label manuscript assessment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label manuscript assessment. Show all posts
21 May 2009
6 November 2007
How much more rewriting?
The manuscript assessment has arrived and I'm not in a state of shock, depression or about to throw my manuscript in the bin. So that's a positive!
I've read through it a couple of times but I think I need to read through it a couple more before I get stuck into the rewriting. The assessor has made some good suggestions and some interetsting points, and although I don't agree with everything they said, I agree with most of it. A couple of things I don't quite understand, though, so if I still don't get it after another reading or two I'll ask the rest of the cohort what they think the assessor means.
Going by the feedback, I think I've got another 3 months rewriting to do, maybe 6 months. I'm not exactly sure what 'finished' state the manuscript has to be in to submit it for my Masters, but that's really the least of my worries, seeing I haven't even made a start on the exegesis.
Oh well, maybe I'll write that in February!
I've read through it a couple of times but I think I need to read through it a couple more before I get stuck into the rewriting. The assessor has made some good suggestions and some interetsting points, and although I don't agree with everything they said, I agree with most of it. A couple of things I don't quite understand, though, so if I still don't get it after another reading or two I'll ask the rest of the cohort what they think the assessor means.
Going by the feedback, I think I've got another 3 months rewriting to do, maybe 6 months. I'm not exactly sure what 'finished' state the manuscript has to be in to submit it for my Masters, but that's really the least of my worries, seeing I haven't even made a start on the exegesis.
Oh well, maybe I'll write that in February!
20 August 2007
Off to the manuscript assessment service
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?
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?
27 April 2007
Another draft complete
I've finished another draft of Girl in the Shadows, and it's getting pretty close to where I want it to be. In this last rewrite I completely rewrote one character (Mrs Steppa), deleted an entire chapter (which actually felt quite good) and weeded out a whole lot of unnecessary description.
As part of the master's course, my manuscript gets assessed by a professional manuscript assessor, who will tell me everything that's wrong with it (along with some ideas to fix it, hopefully!).
So I think I'm almost ready to send the manuscript off for assessment. But before I do, we're going to do some peer critiquing at our next class. I've put up my first chapter for the rest of the group to critique (& have since then already changed some of the opening lines). But first chapters are always the hardest.
It wouldn't matter if your book was the most brilliant thing ever written. If the first chapter was crap, no one would ever read past it to find out how brilliant you really were!
I know my first chapter can still do with some improvement. I'm confident that the rest of the master's group can give me a couple of brilliant ideas to make it just that bit better. And once that's done, it's off to the manuscript assessor for a major reality check.
When I have the assessment in my hot little hands I'll have a pretty good idea of how publishable Girl in the Shadows is. Or at least know how much further I have to go before it's ready to submit to an agent or publisher.
And if they reckon it truly sucks, well, it'll be bum-down-head-up for another major rewrite.
As part of the master's course, my manuscript gets assessed by a professional manuscript assessor, who will tell me everything that's wrong with it (along with some ideas to fix it, hopefully!).
So I think I'm almost ready to send the manuscript off for assessment. But before I do, we're going to do some peer critiquing at our next class. I've put up my first chapter for the rest of the group to critique (& have since then already changed some of the opening lines). But first chapters are always the hardest.
It wouldn't matter if your book was the most brilliant thing ever written. If the first chapter was crap, no one would ever read past it to find out how brilliant you really were!
I know my first chapter can still do with some improvement. I'm confident that the rest of the master's group can give me a couple of brilliant ideas to make it just that bit better. And once that's done, it's off to the manuscript assessor for a major reality check.
When I have the assessment in my hot little hands I'll have a pretty good idea of how publishable Girl in the Shadows is. Or at least know how much further I have to go before it's ready to submit to an agent or publisher.
And if they reckon it truly sucks, well, it'll be bum-down-head-up for another major rewrite.
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