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