Word Weaves

This morning on my walk, I spotted a double rainbow. It arched over the trees into a deep gray sky; the afteraffects of last night’s thunderstorms. The me that lives in my imagination leapt to that arc and clung for dear life. I didn’t have to wonder where that impulse came from.

Last week was a train wreck: friends and family with serious health issues, budget shortcomings, and the conspicuous absence of a call back after a hopeful job interview. Then there was the discussion I came across on the Verla Kay board about agents preferring prospective clients not shop their work to editors. That was difficult to swallow after spending the last two months in hyper mode, rewriting my first book to submit with conference coupons to editors before the September 4th deadline. And I set my second book aside to do it.

What I read on Verla Kay rang true and reliable sources confirmed it. Why did I learn this the week before I sent my submission? Did I lose two months of writing time on my second book for nothing? I believe in God’s timing and in listening to that voice we all have inside.  For some reason, I was meant to rework my first novel. No doubt, it’s a much better book. Even if it’s not marketable, I grew as a writer through the revision and my next book will be better for it.

I wasn’t looking for the pot of gold when I latched onto that rainbow this morning. I was looking for hope. I’m starting the week with a new plan, tossing the editor’s coupons and compiling an agents’ list. I’ll query a dozen. If the reaction is negative, my first book goes in a box labeled STEP ONE.

When people asked why I needed to revise my book…again…I didn’t have a definitive answer. And they deserved one. They were first readers; the only people on the planet who knew my story. I think they felt cheated. Why would I change a book they had given their support to?

Now that I’m nearing the end of the second rewrite, I think I can explain.  It all began with the synopsis. I needed one to submit my story for the SCBWI W-I-P grant in February. I scrawled thirty versions of that dreaded document without satisfaction.  I sent it off figuring it was the best I could do. Then I took an online synopsis class.

That class asked questions of my story I hadn’t asked. I knew my main character like a sister. But who were the primary and secondary antagonists and what were their conflicts and goals? What were the external and internal plots/goals. How does the story build from beginning through plot points to climax and resolution? 

Those questions forced me to face what I didn’t know about my story and what was missing.  To be blunt, a snarly secondary character  upstaged my wimpy protaganist; my plot didn’t just drag in the middle, it sagged like a pot belly pig, and my black moment was dim! I slapped that book closed and shut my mind off. 

After a few weeks of  healing,  my trounced creativity bounced back with and I took drastic action. I kicked my MC out of the story.  I mourned her loss. Introducing a new MC to an old cast of characters isn’t easy. The strange protaganist was like the new kid in school that nobody knew, including me. But she did just what I hoped; she shook things up. With the synopsis class fresh in mind, I started over.  Partway through the rewrite, I took a MG/YA class and used the lessons as I revised.

The story is so much better, even I can see it. Last week, when I wrote the query to submit it, for the first time the book sounded like something I might like to read. By the end of this week, I’ll reface the synopsis. I pray this time, the result will answer the critical questions.

Edvard Munch’s painting,  The Scream, pretty much sums up how I’m feeling with thirty days to finish the rewrite on my manuscript. Meeting that September 4th submission deadline (clearly stated on the editors’ coupons from the SCBWI conference) may be an impossible dream. My book feels like an unfinished rag doll in bits and pieces, with stuffing pouring out of holes.

Dani, the new protaganist, is settling into her role. I feel I know her pretty well and she’s certainly added spice to the story. She’s also energized the secondary characters.  I can’t say I’m as fond of her as I was of Gilly, the original character.  And I’m having a hard time justifying Gilly’s exile to people who read my original manuscript. Dani was created under duress, sort of like a forced friendship, but I’ve grown to admire her.

Some of the newly integrated scenes feel raw and clumsy. I’ve been offering small chunks of my story as homework in the class I’m taking.  That’s a good thing except it’s slowed down the revision. Feedback is invaluable, but in the end, it all comes down to the writer and the pen. And my pen needs to fly.