the whole shebang…

the ins and outs & ups and downs of a new novelist's journey

In a Nutshell: Synopses Suck!! July 18, 2010

Seriously… I mean, I get the point. I do. No agent nor editor wants to read through an entire manuscript just to find out the plot falls apart or the ending sucks, but it’s just so….tedious….formulaic. Things I don’t like.
I’m not an outline type of gal. I have a basic premise for a book or a story, and I start writing. I see where it goes. I fix continuity as I see problems arise. So far, I’ve been lucky enough to have characters with certain qualities that come in handy later on. I don’t plan these things—they just happen. I’ve never been an outline fan.

I am, I must say, working on a basic plot, from beginning to end, for the sequel to Avalon (which I had NO intention of writing but so many ideas came to mind and I’m not ready to let these people go, so I’ll give them a bit more life…). So yeah, there’s a sequel…and it just kind of happened. I was like, ‘what about this, though?’ – ‘oh, and this could soooo easily happen.’ So now I’m forced to write it. I’m not in control….these dang characters are. Sometimes I swear they’re more real than I am :P

Back to the point, though… When I started the first book, I had an idea and I figured out the ending, but the middle, well, it just came as I wrote. I saw the scenes play out in my mind and I typed away, writing what was happening. This time, though, I have a more defined idea of what will occur. One, because I can’t not think about it, and two, because I have a bit more experience writing and I know the process will go quicker this way. Most likely I’ll drift off the path a bit as the characters go their own way, but I’m looking forward to it :)
The main difference between this book and the first is that I have NO idea what the ending is…so that will be interesting to see what comes about. In fact, I literally just wrote down something else that came to mind. Something that wasn’t dealt with in the first book. Avalon is definitely a stand-alone novel, but there are issues that can be dealt with in another story, so that’s what I’m doing…. O.K., enough of that.

Back to the *original* point. Formulas. Synopses. These things suck! Queries, eh, not so much. I like mine. I have a few versions, depending on who I’m submitting to, but this whole synopsis thing. It’s for the birds, as my grandma would say (and actually did yesterday, while talking about this Ridiculous heat wave we have going on!).
My favorite are the agents who don’t require them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m working on mine and I’ll have it ready—I have to since I’m submitting a partial tomorrow, but I just had to vent that I don’t like them at all. I want to write. Not put together a proposal, or presentation, in order to sell something. I’m not a salesman. I’ve worked retail…I’m the type that’s honest. If something isn’t right for the person, I’ll tell them. So how am I supposed to sell my book.
Oh yeah, that’s right. I’m beyond in love with it and have confidence and faith that others will see the spark it contains. So we’ll see. Now I’m off to pretend I’m back in college, writing an outline for some stupid paper I don’t have any desire to write. Wait, that’s not true. I like writing…no matter what it’s about. It’s the outlines that I hate.
And the synopses. So there ya go.

xx -e*

 

my new pitch. September 21, 2009

the hook::
Visions of another dimension usher a young woman through an adventure of immorality, virtue, and self-discovery.

* * *

the pitch::
Alexis has always experienced intense dreams. They used to be all sunshine and rainbows, but lately they’ve entered a much darker, depraved realm.

The dreams are actually visions, intended to prepare her for the truth. The reason she’s felt so different since she was a child…
Avalon, an other-world where faeries live, is her real home. Brought into the human realm when she was born, she’s lived that life for twenty-four years.
But now it’s time to venture back with her kind.

A horrible evil has been brewing — waiting just for her.
Something is killing humans and she’s the only one who can stop it.

While attempting to do so, and learn her new place in the universe, she meets up with other, helpful fae. But one shows her that their true nature is to test the limits and mess with the balance.
Will she be able to stay strong and save the humans?
And what will she do when she finds the way to protect them means subjecting some of her own to a horrible death?
She must choose between her two worlds. Which is the right choice?

 

alexis hodge July 16, 2009

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here she is. if you want to read about how i found her and how i generally feel about what characters in my books/stories look like, click right here. (but not til friday *7.17* after midnight as that’s when the other post is scheduled to publish.)

the reason this girl stood out to me is because..well, there are just so many reasons::
*her hair. perfect length and it’s straightened, as alexis likes it. her hair’s curly, but she rarely wears it as such. also, her hair isn’t pulled back. alexis always makes sure her ears are covered, even if some of her hair is pulled back..
*skin tone. she’s dark, but not ‘tanning bed’ dark. it looks like she could be half-italian/half-spanish.
*her eyes. not too much makeup, but enough to bring them out. it’s pretty much the only makeup alexis wears. can’t see this girl’s eyes, but alexis’ are green.
*eyebrows. well-groomed. in keeping with bringing out her eyes.
*her tattoo. she has one that the reader knows of on her foot. one single star. but she’s the type to have something like this and hide it. maybe the top would peek out of a tank on a warm day, but most people would have no clue it exists.
*the belt. just her style.
*age. at least the age this girl looks to be… alexis is twenty, and this girlie seems to be around the same age, give or take (or give) a few years.
*the pose. alexis is uncomfortable in her skin and with her peers, but she would so take a picture like this just to keep for herself. i could see her taking myspace pictures (although i don’t think she’s the type to have a page) and throwing some random poses like this in there that she would never have any intention of posting, let alone seeing the light of day. they’d be locked away – password protected – on her laptop somewhere. even better, on a memory stick that requires a password and encrypts all files. i could so see her with her lips to the camera—trying to portray her inner minx lol
*final note: this just is a perfect example of who alexis thinks she is (and actually really is—well, other than the faery part ;) ) but is too afraid to show her true self to others. for many reasons, mostly fear of rejection or being shunned for being a freak.

this is alexis hodge. period. and i love everything about her!

 

140 characters. July 9, 2009

So I just spent a couple minutes coming up with a Twitter pitch.
Once my character count became 0, I stopped.
I’ll rewrite it soon—spruce it up a bit.
But this is what I have as of now::

Visionary dreams show Alexis she’s a faery and must join with a Depraved one to defeat true evil. But will she succumb to that evil herself?

Have any of you tried this yet? If not, you should.
I thought that my one-hundred-word pitch was difficult. I had to work quite a while to make it right. But only 140 characters to tell an entire novel….

 

been writing. here’s an excerpt. June 25, 2009

So I’m working on my blog for giveagirlapen that I have to post tomorrow, plus reviewing some things for people, and trying to write Avalon, so I’ve not the time to blog today.

Instead, I’ll leave you with a super short excerpt from a day in the life of Alexis Hodge =)

*************

Alexis slammed the back door of her ‘parents’’ house, and made a beeline for her car. At least Roxie would make her feel somewhat normal. Her 1967 VW Beetle was in pristine condition, and Alexis could not imagine any other car suiting her so well.

She grabbed the door handle, and quickly drew her hand back.

“Damn it!” That frackin’ hurt! What the hell?

Once again, she attempted to open the car door. Her hand was met with the same response—searing pain.

Can something please be normal in my life for one freaking second today? Just one thing?!

Dropping down to her knees, holding her useless right hand at her waist, Alexis shuffled around in her purse for her phone. Her left hand was fairly incapable of doing anything helpful, but she was able to scroll to Hollie’s number and hit send.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Hols. Can you come help me?” Alexis started to sniffle, and tears once again welled up. She let them fall. And fall.

“What’s going on, sweets? Why are you crying? Where are you?” Hollie sounded frantic.

“I don’t know. I don’t know. I just need to leave and I can’t. My parents aren’t my parents and my car just burned me….” She was sobbing so hard at this point that her words were all jumbled together and made no sense.

“Alexis—calm down. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ll get over to you. You at home?”

“Yeah,” Alexis managed to blubber out.

Hollie reassured Alexis she’d be right there, and Alexis just let the phone drop back into her purse. She curled up into a ball, her forehead on her knees, tears spilling freely.

When it seemed she no longer had anything left to cry, Alexis felt a reassuring hand on her back. She slowly sat up, wiped her nose with her palm like a little kid, and looked to see who was there.

*************

Most likely, I’ll take a look at this tonight or tomorrow morning and revise a bit. Then I’ll post a revision.
If anyone feels like critiquing, go for it!!
=)

 

twitter. June 24, 2009

Filed under: Progress!,fun :) — Eden Tyler @ 10:46 am
Tags: , , , , ,

twitterwink

yep.
i gave in to the madness.
i joined.
so did alexis/kellyn.
it’s insanity.

k, i’m off to write. for real.
i have to at least finish this chapter today.
maybe i’ll post it. i probably will. =)
later!!

xx

ok, i lied. i’ll post it tomorrow….
it’s 4pm and i’ve other stuff to do