How a Query can actually manage not to be the epitome of evil

Yes, it's hard to believe. Queries, for those who don't know, are a small paragraph of no more than 250-300 words, in which you try to tell someone what happens in your story, why it's cool, and how totally awesome you are as a writer.

Unfortunately, you can't just come out and say this (Imagine that - I am a good writer, and this is the best most fantastical book ever). No, instead you have to show them that by weaving a compelling and individual narrative (ie, you can't have just a premise - you have to show what happens in your book, what the stakes are for your character, and give some hint of what they do).

There should be conflict, tension, character, plot, good writing... in about 250 words. Thus, queries have a reputation for being evil. Their primary purpose is to sell your book, or net it some representation from an agent.

But for me, at least, queries have quite a nifty little second use, which is not quite as evil as the first one.

Okay, you've got 250 words. In that sort of space, you can't muck about. A query forces you to get to the very essence of what your story, characters, themes and ideas are about. That's what makes it so bloody hard - most of us don't try and think that way to start off with. Whether you're a planner or a discovery writer, most people will think out their plot, characters and story, but they won't think about the essence of all those things. And most people don't know what the essence of their story is. Well, they have a generic idea. For example, my story The Manda was about shades of grey in people and civilisations - the idea that no-one is right; that there is only perspective, and while a person can be kind in one instance, they can be downright horrible in the next.

But that has been done before. It's a very broad idea of what my story is about. In a query, you need to be specific - you have to figure out the essence of your story, characters, plot ect, and then you have to figure out what makes it individual, fun, terrifying, brilliant.

This takes forever, or at least it does for me. I spent hours on my last query - it didn't take too long to figure what my themes were about, but to par my characters, plot and structure down into short succinct ideas, and then combine those ideas to make a compelling narrative - took about two weeks, working at it for something like five hours a day. This doesn't sound too long. Then you realise that this is only 250 words I'm talking about. I wrote, and rewrote, and agonised, and cut, and scrapped, and started from scratch, and cursed and got second opinion and third opinions and went through at least 100 drafts of 250 words.

So. Whatever way you look at it, creating a query is evil. But once you have one, they can be gold in so many ways. Once you've had to write a query, you know what you want your book to be about - you know it's essence, not just the big things that make it go. And in my honest opinion, once you know the essence of a book, you can fix anything that's wrong with the plot, story, characters or structure. That fixing may take a entire rethink. (That circumstantially is what I'm doing with The Manda). or you may find your query closer to what you wanted than you thought it would be. Either way, once you nail a query, you've nailed your stories soul.

Then there's just the problem of communicating that to a reader, which is a whole different kettle of fish. That's where the perception gap between what a writer wants to say, and what a reader actually receives from you words, comes up.

But with a query, at least you have a start.

So my suggestion: write your story. Either planning or not planning, however you will. Then agonise over your query. Then, once you've got your query, and know it off by heart, (you will to - believe me, you can't create a query and not be able to quote it in your sleep by the time you've done) look again at your story. Take a good long look. Try and put yourself in the place of the reader, and see how big that perception gap is. If it's huge, make it smaller, until you can't notice one. Then, depending on what type of person you are, send it to a beta reader, or to a publisher. You'll either get a rejection, telling you that that gap is still there, or a report back from your beta reader, telling you that that gap is still there. Read the query again. And again. Think about the soul of your piece, and shorten that gap.

It's worth it. That "ah-ha!" moment you get on figuring out what's wrong is like drinking a redbull + espresso + no-doze shot. That sort of zing is worth being given a Medicare number for financial re-reimbursement.

(Oh, and this is written to hype myself up before I start query writing for my steam punk novel. There is a hidden motive here - if I remind myself of the benefits, I may actually look forwards to putting myself through the hell of writing a query. I'm also going to revise the Manda - this is to hype myself up for that too.)

Anyway, regardless of your motive in writing a query, know that they are evil to create. But bloody useful thereafter.

Enjoy creating~

Sian

Second Draft Miracle

There's something wonderful about being able to write when you know exactly what's going to happen. It allows you to think more about what you're writing now, rather than "where the heck do I go with this next?"

Some would argue that is what plans are for. But for me, I do a first draft which is mostly worry and "good god, what have I done". Then I get to the end, and I rather pleasantly know my characters, and have a plot.

But there's something strange about second drafts. Sometimes, there are big problems in the first draft that have to be corrected. Logically speaking, you don't know if your corrections are going to work - you just know that they're fixing the current problem. How then, is it that the corrections work themselves out? How can removing an entire scene, which would have effected the MC in a variety of ways, and driven the plot in a variety of ways, not actually change the book so much that you end up with another first draft?

This happened to me recently - I realised that I had a scene I didn't need. I cut the scene, wrote some other stuff. Not once was there any guarantee that the other stuff would bring me directly back into the plot line, but it managed to. I've been a little perplexed as to how it worked out so well.

I think it comes from my changing of my MC's main motivation.

At the end of the first draft, I knew my MC and her motivation didn't fit. Her motivation didn't drive her to do what she was doing by the end of the book. So I went and changed it, to fit her actions at the end of the book.

This new motivation not only drives her to those actions in the climax, but keeps her on task for the rest of the plot line. There is no other way she can go, given her circumstances, who she is as a person, and her motivation.

Neat, huh? I was quite pleased with this revelation, and quite heartbroken by the fact it means that I've got to go in search of motivation in another WIP. But this revelation provides a tool for fixing things, and that is always useful.

So when you know how things are going to turn out, and you know who your characters are, make sure their motivations are going to drive them towards the appropriate actions. If they are of a certain character, that character, paired with the right motivation, will keep them on track.

Enjoy creating~

Sian

Coming Back

You may have noticed the odd quiet hanging around here of late. That is mainly due to the fact that, well, I've been writing a first draft, and it does tend to rather consume one's life.

So. I have mentioned my writing process before, but here's something else that starting a new project taught me. I may be getting just a little bit better.

Why? Well, this time round, there was a certain level of detachment and experience. I knew when I did things that were wrong, I knew when I had to go back and fix things. But I knew that as I wrote it, which has never happened for me before. It's always been the process of getting incredibly attached to something, then not being able to see it's flaws until a month afterwards.

This time round, I expected it's flaws. I still have a little voice inside my head informing me that "this is crap, this is crap, this is crap". I have ignored it thus far, and will continue to do so. But it's there, which means I'm on the look out for mistakes. I'm making notes in my head as I go, I'm still loving the story, but looking at it with a much clearer perspective then before.

Frankly speaking, I'm gearing myself for the next haul. The first draft took me 20 days to write, and it's not entire crap. this is always a good start. Over the next two days, I go through, make notes on character, plot, motivation, sub-plots - pull it apart and and analyse it, as it were.

Then we start on the second draft. And by the end of that, I should have something that's not embarrassing. Still needs a lot of work, but you get the idea.

So yes. I'm back. :) It feels wonderful, a bit like work sometimes, but satisfying work.

Enjoy creating~

Sian

Sudden Realisation: Steam-punk

You know what? Before now I was operating on a very loose idea of what steam-punk was. I thought it was just about steam in the Victorian era. So it made no sense for me to have trams or bi-copters, or to even contemplate airships, because, well, it's just not possible to load a massive steam powered engine onto an airship. Gravity would get you quicker than you can think about it.

But that's not what steam-punk is about. Definitely, there a lot of steam, and cogs and brass about. But there is also electricity. The difference being it is applied to the ideas of the Victorian Era.

The ideas of the time knew nothing about the modern ideas of cars or computers. Their sense of magnificence was always present, trying to make an impression was vitally important in a class bound society.

So steam-punk, in my mind at least, is the principals of technology, the science behind the technology, applied to a Victorian Era. Or in my case, colonial Australia in the Victorian Era.

And you know, my hunch was right. The unions were playing funny buggers about the late 1800's. They're most definitely a good start to the revolution.

I need to get to the state library some time. I also need to design a airship tomorrow. That will be... interesting, given my previous attempts at designing verticals.

Wish me luck,

Sian

Update: 4/11/2010 我真的很高兴！！！！

First things first: 我真的很高兴! (I am very happy)

Why? Well I got into contact with my Chinese host family, and my Chinese wasn't so terrible that I couldn't understand them. I used a dictionary a heap, yes, but... they miss me! And I miss them, and everyone's all missing everyone else, and they're all lovely...

I just feels great that I was able to contact them, have a proper conversation with a minimum of misunderstandings, and that they still like me.

*runs through blog throwing happiness about.*

Secondly: nanowrimo is going well. Both my books are at the first turning point, which is great. Now I've just go to figure out where to go from there, but it'll come. I've got two random new characters in the steam punk novel - one that is entirely new, and is going to be a major character. I love it when things go well.

Viva la Revolution! Well, in colonial Australia, anyway.

I've also figured out how to fix a major plot issue in my other book (The Manda). I am tossing up whether to get to that now, or after november. It's probably going to be after.

But things are still percolating. I think I may be at the stage where I can start sending this thing (The Manda) out December/January. And then, if it doesn't get any bites, I can put it away in full knowledge that I have other things happening.

The only bleak note on the horizon is that the accommodation people at my university have not gotten back to me. Ahh well, you can't have it all in life.

Tomorrow, I am word warring with a fellow writer, who writes 5k a day without fail. I'm going to be slaughtered. But I may get more done then I was.

So all in all, a pretty good update. :D