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NOVEL PROBLMES
I wrote this novel, (Texas Triangles) while I was still working nights at CPS. I was also substitute teaching at Bryan Adams High fairly regularly and did the writing through a group that met every other tuesday at the Farmers Branch Library Branch. Incidently that is where I met Traveler Trisha, later her husband Jean Francois and Raf and Natasha. JF was teaching at SMU in Dallas... not a happy camper.
When I "finished" TT I did some rewrites by my self and the with the group and got an agent who turned out to be a dud who did not follow through on much. My problem seems to be that the novel is too short to really be a novel and the answer may be to expand some areas or go in some other direction. Maybe matt needs to get resolved with Tom, or maybe he needs to find his own direction away from the crew he has been "playing with" Maybe some other section needs more detail.
Also marketing this story has been a problem. What kind of story is it? Action, adventure, sex? When I descrribe it it sounds like I have mostly put down a sexy escepate, but it also has much more than that. It tells a lot about abuse, abusive vamilies CPS, Foster care, growing up in foster care and abuse and what it does to you. It is not as raunchy as it "depicts" for marketing, but is the story of a woman who grew up not knowing much about how to relate outside of using sex, and having poor concepts of boundries. Maybe some of you could help with this/. Charla and others may have to write for me when I can't.. I guess I can send large sections of the novel by email attachments. Let me know what you think and if there is some way to participate.
When I "finished" TT I did some rewrites by my self and the with the group and got an agent who turned out to be a dud who did not follow through on much. My problem seems to be that the novel is too short to really be a novel and the answer may be to expand some areas or go in some other direction. Maybe matt needs to get resolved with Tom, or maybe he needs to find his own direction away from the crew he has been "playing with" Maybe some other section needs more detail.
Also marketing this story has been a problem. What kind of story is it? Action, adventure, sex? When I descrribe it it sounds like I have mostly put down a sexy escepate, but it also has much more than that. It tells a lot about abuse, abusive vamilies CPS, Foster care, growing up in foster care and abuse and what it does to you. It is not as raunchy as it "depicts" for marketing, but is the story of a woman who grew up not knowing much about how to relate outside of using sex, and having poor concepts of boundries. Maybe some of you could help with this/. Charla and others may have to write for me when I can't.. I guess I can send large sections of the novel by email attachments. Let me know what you think and if there is some way to participate.
You could start with a chapter outline? That would let us see the whole at once.
How's that?
373 pages and 62,932 words
This is a great idea and I am going to open a separate Texas Triangles LJ site. I want to make it accessible to special users only and there may be other things you know about setting something like this up that will make it work in a more useful way. I've already been able to do some really good consultation with Gail and Charla and see this as probably working out pretty well. Not necessarily going chapter by chapter.
Thanks for helping me get started on this and I will call you today.
Scott (written by Charla)
I thought I was setting up the site, but it turned into a blog entry and said there was already a site. Could you figure out how to get the cite set up for real and how to give people access to it? Better yet could you help me administrate it to let people in and exclcude in appropriate ones. I would like to get you a list of those who want to participate, and make sure everyone who shoud has a working copy of Novel, Nov1, Nov2 and Nov 3. I would be glad to give you any and all info into my blog entrance codes. I could send that to you by email, but it also might be good just to give you full access to my email set up stuff so you could be me when needed. I'll email that stuff and try to get a bit better organized. thanks. let me know if this gets to be too much. I am hoping it will be fun.
w
If you do, here are a couple of my thoughts, for what they are worth. (I've written three books and had two agents pick them up, but never sold them. One published came close, but finally said no. So perhaps my advice would only tell you how to fail the same way I did - if so, ignore it.)
62,000 words is a bit short for a novel, but not terribly. At 80,000, you'd be right in the ball park. If you go over 100,000, it's very hard to sell as a first novel.
Having read nothing of the book, just your blurb above, it sounds like the book isn't very focused. What is the central theme and plot, and are your fully developing them? Are there so many secondary themes and plots that it gets muddled? Can you give a compelling synopsis of it in under 100 words? If not, most agents will ignore you.
I think Trish's ideas about posting pieces of it are excellent. In fact, to save time, you might simply want to "publish" it on LJ in segments as is. Sort of an instant e-book.
Good luck!
Hey Scott
I just got back from The Dominican Republic. I thought of how much you would love it there, the island was beautiful and the people, poor but awesome - some of the happiest people I have ever met! Had a great time and I managed to keep my clothes own! :)
anyway, if there is anything I can do to help with the book, let me know. I liked it the first time I read it...