Pitch Sent

I'm actually out of town but wanted to say:

My NB blurb has been sent...let the wait begin!

~Hetal

Blurbing

It's harder than it looks. Though I tossed out a couple of pretty good resources in a previous post, they sadly aren't helping me. Want to know why? Because while composing this blurb, I haven't nailed down my hero's emotional motivations/hindrances. My lady has no problem hollering all her issues - and there are many - straight into my head, so is too much to ask the same from my leading man?

On the Harlequin's community site there was an awesome pitch workshop held by author Winnie Grigg. If you haven't checked it out yet, I highly recommend you do. She breaks down a pitch piece by piece, and gives some great examples to ponder on when creating your own parts.

So, going back to my original problem. Part three of the outline is to nail down his and her motivations. Umm, I know what these things are, but I can't succinctly articulate them. Overall, I'm trying to write a blurb with less than 200 words, but I'm hoping for it to be less and still have impact.

Think about it, some of the most intriguing back covers you read are short and sweet yet convey just enough of the story to make you want to take it right home, sit down with a cup, and ignore the real world for the provided fantasy. This is what I'm aiming for; this is what I've been working on for two days with no end in sight.

*sigh* Men!

~Hetal

Write or Die weekend

Well, I am without Monkey this weekend which should give me ample time to finish my novella and the dreaded blurb. I've had all afternoon but have spent most of it critiquing other people's pieces. Hey, while I'm in a writing rut, others should benefit I say.


I'm more than halfway through both the piece and the blurb, so this should be a piece of cake, no? Well, yes, if only thoughts of Monkey weren't running through my head...

Thursday? Really?

How did I miss Wednesday? I recall editing a bit and realizing my chapter three will not actually be a great chapter three but a better chapter four, so now I'm mind-plotting a new chapter three without compromising my word count. Hmm, maybe I should try plotting before I write to avoid such snags.

Nah!

Did I lose you above? Sorry about the ramble, but hey, it's what I do. Ask (sister) number three, she'll tell you. :)

Anyhow, back to losing my Wednesday. I surfed, took care of Monkey (my 18 month old), cleaned house, checked email, checked group sites, checked blog...accomplished nothing, yet it's now Thursday night and I have nothing to show for it. I should really get on with this writing thing...

Started to work on my pitch "blurb" late today. It's so hard to condense a story to two paragraphs, much harder than a full snyopsis, and I'm worried I'm not getting the right tone. Because the line I'm targeting is "dark and sensual", the blurb - as well as the story - should portray this. I don't think I have it yet.

And Ack!, it's due Feb 1st. Not to mention I have to finish this short by then as well (because I want to submit it whether or not my blurb is chosen).

Maybe I should lay off the internet, excepting research, until then...

Nah!

~Hetal

Tighten and Tone

My current work-in-progress that is. Don't even get me started about working out; the treadmill and I have an agreement to not discuss my big butt no matter how many times I walk by on the way to the laundry.  ;)

Anywho, back to the subject.

I'm preparing a new piece for the Nocturne Bites line. Specifically, I'm trying to complete it in time for the pitch contest. If I recall correctly, there were a little over sixty pitchers last year. That's some fierce competition, and I expect no less than year.

To really polish my drafts I'm taking advantage the Auto Critter. It's such a great little tool, I don't know how I edited without it. Using the basic (and free) "overused words" analyzer, problem areas of entire chapters are highlighted for me.

I use too many "that's" and "knows" it told me, delete at least four occurrences of each. I gladly did so. Too many words with -ing, delete some. Grudgingly, I did. I happen to think they show more movement than the standard -ed prefix so incorporate them often - apparently a lot.


My first and second chapters have really benefited from this online gizmo. I benefited from it. If you find yourself with a little time today, check it out, you might learn something about yourself.  ;)

~Hetal

Getting it

I'm slowly - very slowly - paring down my long drawn out intro's and bringing the reader right into the action. It's hard for me as I tend to reveal the backstory from the get go. In one big chunk.

A big no no.

I've actually known this for some time. The tendency to give every single detail from the get go is a classic newbie mistake, and one I've often tripped on. No matter how much I try, I'm always a few steps away from the ideal.

Such as the MS I'm working on for the Noc Bite pitch. I'm really close to the perfect start but still inserting an unnecessary second character for the benefit of revealing backstory. I need to cut him. Really, he needs to...go.

You thought I was going to say die, didn't you? Haha, have to admit, I tried leading you that way.

In any case, I'm really excited for this first chapter which has taken me four iterations to get just the way I want it. Let's hope the rest of the novella flows.

~Hetal

I Received an Award

Not for my romance writing, but for the entertainment value my blog provides the masses. The "masses" being the (maybe) five or so people who stop by and visit, no doubt. LOL.  :)

Last week the very lovely Kaily Hart, an aspiring writer and blogger addict like myself, awarded me a Kreativ Blogger Award. We're both struggling down the waiting-to-be-published path, (she's a little closer to the end than myself) and her words often lift me up when I need a laugh. Thanks Kailey.  :)

So now it falls on me to do a few things to honor this little award that has made many rounds around the net. First, thank the person who gave this token to me. Second, reveal 7 interesting things about myself. And third, pass on this award to seven other bloggers.

So, check mark against number one ;).  Onto the next...and this could be a little difficult to fulfill. I don't feel I'm an interesting person, but I'll try coming up with some things.

1. I am the oldest of four girls. I joke that the four of us are unwanted because my parents were really trying for a boy, a goal it seems every older generation of East Indian strove for. But no, they do love us and wouldn't return any of us to Kmart (though numbers 2 & 3 & I did threaten to take the youngest back - often).
   
2. I read my horoscope almost everyday. From many different places: the paper, the net, an email. By far, my favorite comes from Astrology Zone. I'm a sucker for what the stars have to say, and remain faithful to the dream even though none of those predictions have panned out.
3. I was incredibly saddened by a visit to the Taj Mahal ten years ago. Not only because it is a beautiful interpretation of love enduring death, but also because of the state of the grandiose structure. The dazzling white marble of my youth is now streaked with gray, and no amount of meticulous cleaning seemed to be washing away Agra's pollution. Silly, I know, to be affected by the state of such a thing, but there it is.
4. I adamantly refused to be a stay at home mom before my marriage, but now I selfishly, and secretly, hold onto the title. Not that I don't miss working, I do - you just can't get adult interaction with a 1 1/2 year old - but it gives me more time to be a struggling writer.
5. My unofficial title has become "the baby maker" of our bunch. I only have one girl so far...the fam's waiting impatiently for another.
6. I'm psychic...kind of. Ok, not really at all. But I have had some very insightful moments that have come true.
7. I have completed a dozen novellas: submitted zero. They just aren't good enough, I say, and I am not putting less than my best out there. But that's all changing this year. 2010 will be the year I come out of my shell.  :)

Wow, you have no idea how long it took me to come up with those, and I'm so glad the torture is over! So, now it's left for me to pass on this honor to seven others. For various reasons, and in no particular order, I would like to mention the blogs of:

Ju Dimello

Mel Teshco

Donna Alward

Agent Kristen

The Book Lush

Hywela Lyn

Diamonds & Toads

Whether it's for light reading or writing advice, I often spend a minute at these blogs. I do hope you enjoy them as well.

~Hetal

Fresh Face

After much harassing from my dear husband, I'm simplifying my blog page and ask that you bear with me as I tinker with this new look.

Will you, please? Pretty please?

Sorry for changing things up as often as I do. I will make a concerted effort to curb further renovations until I am published.

We'll definitely be waiting for some time. LOL.

~Hetal

Upcoming Pitches

If you're an aspiring writer but are feeling intimidated to put yourself out there, see if your work qualifies for any of the "Open Call" I've listed to the left. This is a chance to avoid a slush pile and go straight to the editor. Who wants to pass that up?

The pitches are geared towards well established lines within the house of Harlequin and ask for some very specific elements. Beware, if you don't achieve all of these elements - and then some - you won't stand a chance. I've heard it happen, I swear. If any of these openings make your antenna stand at attention, be sure to read the writing guidelines and adhere to them. It's not easy molding your stories towards predefined requirements - trust me, I've been trying to do it for over a year - but with practice, anything's possible.

You'll be up against some stiff competition, so to help us both out, here's an article I ran across just now that will give some insight to writing the perfect pitch (and be sure to scroll down and check out the accompanying articles on the bottom left specific to romance).

As for the open calls, well, those are a little more flexible to interpretation. Either way, be sure to check them all out. I'll update the list as deadlines pass by and other opportunities open up.

~Hetal

Getting started with a BANG

I didn't mean that dirtily, for shame! Get your mind out of the gutter.  ;)

What I mean is that I think I've finally accepted that each of my stories doesn't start off fast enough. I've known for some time that I tend to write a lot of exposition in the start, believing that the set up should include pertinent historical details - historical to the characters, not actual history. But it tends to slow the pace down, something I've long ignored and assumed people would overlook due to my exceptional writing (I know, I'm laughing too).

I'm fighting my own nature here, trying to write action interspersed with the internal drama first, then following with the back story. I even wrote a new first chapter last night. Over 3000 words of drama and action...where the hero and heroine have yet to meet. Not good. In fact, if I kept my original script, they would now not meet until the third chapter - a big, huge, glaring no no in the romance industry.

I've read it time and again: have your hero and heroine meet as soon as possible. There are very few editors and agents who will hang on until chapter two or three for the life altering meet, even if the writing is that good.

So now I'm contemplating a brand new chapter one while preserving the rest of the piece. I seem to be working backwards, here, where I should be working forward. I had already mind-plotted (because I'm a pantser not a plotter - much to my own detriment) chapters to insert between chapters, but redoing the beginning was not on my original agenda.

As a result, I'm revising my original "submit MS by end of the month" to "submit partial by end of month". I think I'm breathing a sigh of relief on the inside. I have every intention of completing (after all, what if they like it? I want it ready to send off), while temporarily concentrating on the first three chapters.

I've already decided to target Silhouette Nocturne, but am keeping Dorchester and various epubs in mind, you know, "just in cases".

~Hetal

Happy New Year!

I don't know about you, but I can't make resolutions - at least, none that I've ever been able to keep.  The typical has always made my list: eat better, exercise more, cut back on the chocolate, find a better job, be closer to my family, etc.  Always, I seem to come close to, then utterly fail all my goals.

So no resolutions for me.  Nope, I'm going to live as I write: by the seat of my pants.

Speaking of, finally managed to add some words to the MS I'm reworking and was able to add another 1000 wds.  Woo-hoo!  Unfortunately, they only tacked onto my first chapter which means I have many more to go.  Slow and steady and I'll hopefully accomplish something big:  submission of a partial by the end of January.

I'm squeaking on the inside, both in fear and excitement.  Fingers crossed that I don't chicken out this time.