Pitching your story: a contest!

Ever written a 1 or 2 sentence description of your completed story? No?
Well get started!
Entangled Publishing are seeking submissions and Nicola Marsh has a competition.

Pop over to her blog and follow her (if you haven't already), then pop a comment under the post with your pitch, the title, your name and the story word count to be in the draw!

Up for grabs is a first 5 pages critique from Entangled Publishing editor AND from Nicola Marsh herself!

If my story was completed, i'd be entering, so don't miss this opportunity!
Nicola has also included links to some great blogs for advice on how to write a successful pitch.
Do it!

I've entered, have you?

I've just hit submit on my entry to this year's New Voices competition! I just have to wait for them to load it, then i'll put a link to my chapter 1 in the side bar.

This year my entry is a best friends to lovers theme, starring Emma McCarthy and Matthew Jackson Dean.

Emma is inspired by Blake Lively and Matt by Jeff Dean Morgan.

Emma is sick of the status quo - denying her deep passion and love for her best friend, so she proposes! Matt, on the other hand, doesn't want to lose the only solid thing in his life. The only thing that keeps him from going over the edge and succumbing to his tortured past. By demanding he acknowledge the passion between them, brought on by one fatal kiss, will Emma lose her best friend?

Hidden Comments at New Voices

Well, i was getting a bit discouraged that my story was worthy any comments over at the New Voices Competition!
Nicole had left a fantastic comment, and a had some great roses, but no more comments. I want to know what people think of my writing - doesn't everyone?!
But then i searched through all the 600 odd pages of the comments in the discussion section and found about 8 comments.
Billie has come across with a lot of spunk and sass, i have a good voice. I'm very excited!

But i'm also feeling rather daunted - There are hundreds of awesome chapters up there!! How is mine going to make it to the top ten?
Oh well, if it doesn't i'll just finish the rest of the story and send it through the normal line!
Good luck to the rest of you :)

A New Voice

I've done it!
I've submitted my 1st chapter in the New Voices competition. The Price of Passion. Billie and Cooper's story renamed and reworked.
Click on the button in the sidebar and have a read - be sure to rate it or leave a comment so i know what you think! That is the reason why i've submitted it after all.
In the words of my husband "You may as well find out if you're any good or barking up the wrong tree"!!

Backstory, POV, Problems, Oh my!

Yep, i'm having reworking and editing problems for my chapter for New Voices submission!
But probably so are a lot of people wanting to enter.
But i'm slowly working through them with the help of my fab writing buddy. In between the busyness of motherhood. I just hope it will be ready for my deadline of tomorrow :s

Too soon?

Arrrhh!
This is what is running through my head as i am editing and reshaping my first chapter for submitting for the competition.
I knew as i was writing my WIP i would have to edit and rework it but i was hoping to not have to until i'd finished and now i am doing it before i'm finished.
Am i doing it too soon, or will it make it stronger now?
Anyway, i'm cutting out quite a lot from the beginning as it has way too much of that dreaded backstory! Inevitable when you are working with characters who have a past, and a newbie writer :)
Now i'm trying to filter it in so it is more 'present' and makes sense while keeping the tension, and hopefully readable.
What do you think the word count should be for the first chapter? The conditions for the comp said no more than 10,000 but i think this is too many words for a first chapter personally, so do i do half this or do the whole lot???
Arrrhh!!!

Gearing up to Submit

Yep that's right! I wasn't going to but i have decided to enter the New Voices competition with Mills and Boon.
It is open to the public, they will read the chapter and rate it, the judges take note and choose the finalists for the round 1, then round 2, then readers pick the winner!
When i asked my husband if i should enter he said "You may as well see if you are any good or barking up the wrong tree"!!
He loves me, supports me, doesn't want me to waste my time if it isn't going to get me anywhere (but i still will if i love it - don't tell him ;) ).
So i am revisiting chapter 1 of my WIP and editing and reshaping to whip it into shape for the public eye. Check out the link for the submissions so far! They are fab!

Winning Chapters

We are in for a treat! The winning chapters are up over at iheartpresents!

No wonder mine didn't get anywhere! Man, these chapters are magnificent. It is a shame we have to wait so long for the rest of the story to be written and then published - because we know they will be!

If you haven't already, go and take a look. They really are good.

A Big Rejection

Well i got my reply from the competition, and as a first rejection goes this one is pretty good:

Thank you for submitting your first chapter to The Harlequin Presents Writing Competition 2009. The winners have now been notified and we’re sorry to say that your entry was not successful.

You may be wondering if you should revise your story? On the whole, we'd advise against this, but instead recommend that you start afresh with something completely new. Of course, we understand that you’ll want to know the reasons why your chapter didn’t make it into our shortlist, but unfortunately we can’t give individual feedback to every entrant. However you may want to take a look at the most common mistakes we saw in this year’s competition entries, which you can find here: http://www.iheartpresents.com/2009/11/contest-update-feedback-from-the-editors/

We appreciate your interest in Harlequin Mills & Boon and wish you all success with your future writing.

Yours sincerely,

Editorial Department

The editorial Department may advise against revising my chapter, but Billie and Cooper still want their story to be written so it will be. It will be my learning piece. I can and will finish their story. I owe it to them, to myself and to those who have read that first chapter and have begged for more!
But you know what? I really don't think the Presents line was for me anyway. It is really fun to read and has been fun to create. I am going to finish this story and Logan's Angel which i started as the first idea for the competition, mostly because i hate to leave anything unfinished.
And because i may find that i do like writing it, after all you can trick yourself into enjoying things when you don't want to do it.
I think my true passion lies in the longer novel but we shall see. I will keep writing and see where 2010 takes me, who knows, Logan's Angel may be a hidden gem that i submit and am successful with? Or it could be my baby, Secrets and Lies.

Not a Winner...but still a pursuer

Well i didn't win the harlequin presents competition or place as a runner up but big congratulations to the 4 ladies who did! Wow what a feeling that must be.
Really looking forward to the feedback - i hope - that is coming by the 18th December.
I really hope i didn't commit the seven sins detailed on the ihearts site:

not enough dialogue - this may have been a problem as i do love internal dialogue!
dire dialogue - stilted and unrealistic? I hope not - i do struggle with it but i did try to make it 'real'
well-worn plots and characters - could very possibly be a sin (sheepishly duck head)
random meetings and meandering action - Billie and Cooper didn't meet at random in chapter one as they already knew each other so i definately didn't commit this one!
inappropriate first kisses sexual premises - mine did not lack emotional underpining so i don't think i committed this one!
unattractive heroes - I think Cooper is hot and he definately isn't nasty or too aggressive, but i'm not a judge.

If no detailed feedback then i will still finish Billie's and Cooper's story. And i will by no means stop writing. It is my first competition and i have many many ideas still milling around in my head (maybe that's why i have all the headaches? you could be right Karina!)

In fact i am going to put out there right now my writing goals for 2010. So they are written in stone for all to see so i can't change them.

Ten Nights Only will be finished by March 31. and submitted through normal lines.

Logan's Angel will be finished by June 30. and submitted through normal lines

Secrets and Lies will be reworked and edited and finished by December 31st.

Of course any other ideas will be drafted and filed and if they simply must be written then they will be, but the others will not be pushed aside in favour, they will have to wait patiently. yeah right.

All Entries have Been Read!

I can not believe that over 500 entries have already been read for the HMB competition. Those shakes have started again.

Over on the eHarlequin blog, eHarlequin, they have given a list of feedback that they have picked up from the entries. Given the number of entries, obviously they cannot give individual feedback to each entrant so make sure you check out the list and apply it future ventures if you find you have committed one or more of the seven sins :)

From not enough dialogue, to well worn plots and even inappropriate kisses be warned! I hope we all learn something from this submission if we did indulge in a sin. We are only human after all.

So how many of you went and re-read your chapter after reading through the list??

544

That is the number of entries in the Harlequin competition this year!
544! Talk about competition. This would be the biggest competition i have ever entered.
By far the most nerve racking competition i've ever entered and i'm not even in my togs standing on the diving board exposed in front of a crowd ;).
I only hope i have made some impression and get even a small feedback. Over on the i heart presents website they have said they won't be able to give feedback to all entrants and i don't blame them, but how i wish to make a small impression and be one to get a gem of recognition.
I guess that is any writer's dream.
Also. My friend has sent me an email with her critique feedback of my competition submission and i am really hesitant to open it. I do and don't want to read it. I desperately want to know where i need to better my writing and want to know what i have done well. Just opening it though is the hard part. I will wait a few days. Wait for it to shout at me and break down my wall of nerves. My first real direct feedback. Scary.

Guilty

It occured to me this morning that this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach is guilt.
I've worked really hard the past three months on the idea and then polishing and editing the best chapter i possibly could write for the Harlequin competition and what have i done since hitting the send button?
Nothing.
Nadda.
Vilch.
No writing at all.
I've read a few books. Totally immersed myself preparations for my son's birthday party this weekend and gearing myself up for christmas and myriad crafts and projects i want to finish before December 31st.
But no writing.
And i feel guilty.
If i want to be a writer, a real writer, i should be writing every day.
But i think i owe it to myself, my health and my family to give the rest of the year to them and other things. I will start the new year with writing. Most probably going back to my baby anf first novel Secrets and Lies and doing the major re-work it needs.
Obviously if things come out of the competition then i will work on that.
Really i shouldn't feel guilty. I have other things to do, that must be done.
Do other writers feel this way, or do they just keep writing. Do they ever take a little sabbatical, a mini break to re-charge?

Thank you for your email

Well. I've done it.
I hit the send button on my competition entry. Then the shakes started. Then they abated and then i received a confirmation email that they received it and the shakes started again - oh god, now they are reading it!
But, this is good, because this is why i've entered. Any feedback is good feedback.
Now all i have to do is wait until December 1 (or even a call :) ) and do a bit of writing between now and then and all the craft things i want to do for christmas, not to mention my son's 4th birthday.
Big sigh of relief that i have entered it and it's in the hands of the gods, so to speak.
Good luck to you other entrants :)

Helpful Husband?

Well, i'd geared myself up to showing my husband my competition entry to give me another point of view as i needed help. I've decided that i really can't enter my synopsis at 1.5 spacing as that is so not professional.
It seems to be harder to give it to my husband to read than a friend. Surely it would be easier as he in theory already knows me better than anyone else should. Perhaps it is the reality of having something so personal written down on paper - it's no about me but it's from me - that has made me hesistant.
I needn't have worried.
He took one look and decided he couldn't help. It's not his thing. It starts in the middle and not the beginning.
I tried to explain that with only 50,000 words M&B starts in the middle of the action and uses flash backs and dialogue to catch the reader up but he decided that was it.
sigh.
So now i'll just have to muddle through it on my own. Or perhaps i can get my invaluable friend to help yet again. I hope one day soon i will be able to repay the favour.
Only 1 week until deadline. Or as the other romance bloggers call it Dreadline!

Finished Synopsis

Oh my goodness, i can't tell you how pleased i am to finally have finished the synopsis. I've pruned it, plumped it, clarified and refined and polished it to an inch of it's life while trying to retain a feel of my voice and the ebb and flow of the characters' conflict.
Whew.
Double spacing, as Harlequin want it, makes it just a little over 2 pages, so i hope they don't mind that i have made it 1.5 spacing to fit on 2 pages. I couldn't cut anything else out of the story!
Now i just have to work on a flash back and polishing the first chapter and hopefully on October 29 i can hit the save and send button.
Then the real fun will begin. Thankfully i'll have a few distractions and projects to keep me sane while i await the results of the competition.
Well back to it before the kids wake up!

That Darn Synopsis

Well, i've finally tackled the synopsis for my comp sub.

It's three pages long and they require too pages. I've tried to cut out lots but what i've got is essential, so obviously i need another opinion on it, someone else will see what i've missed; make sure i've only focused on conflict driven by the characters and not plot.

I've read all i have found on synopsis's and still it's really hard to write. I just have to have all i have written in it, sigh.
Maybe i should just change the margin sizes to make sure it all fits :)
I don't think that will be right so i'll just have to keep tackling it. Maybe i just need to have a bag of marshmellows or chocolate on hand.

Out of Commission

I've been out of commission for the last week, due to a visit from my sister-in-law and the birthday of my little princess.

I've felt quite antsy all week and now that i have life back to normal (ie just hectic kindy runs and playgroup, washing, dishes....etc) i've let my fingers fly on my WIP for the competition and felt the antsy feeling dissipate. Phew!
Now i have the hard job of tightening the chapter, then tackling the synopsis all with an interrupted weekend for my grandfather's funeral.
I've not a nifty little pen drive though, so hopefully i'll be able to use a computer while away to keep writing. I've really felt the lack of it this week. So don't relish having a week without writing again!

Writing in sequence

Okay, so i've written a draft of my first chapter and really need to sit down and focus on tightening and making it sparkle and catch the judges eye for content and my writing style.

So why am i busy hitting the keyboard with scenes further in the story? I can't seem to stay focused on one area. I wonder if many - or secretly all - writers have this happen to them or are they just more disciplined than me and make themselves work in sequential order faster to get to that scene?

I find i have to write the scene down when i've thought of it, or it's sprung on me while doing mundane things like folding washing, washing the dishes, and yes even changing a nappy! It's even more infuriating when i get scene flashes and conversations from my characters just as my head has hit the pillow. My husband has the knack of falling asleep practically as soon as he is horizontal whereas my mind starts to fire in all directions and i find myself scrabbling for a pen.

No matter how hard i try to get my story written in sequential order, i find myself having to fill in the gaps once i've written the big scenes. I think this may have to do with being a bit of a procrastinator and instead of focusing on the beginning i'm firing in all directions avoiding the place i have to be. I work well to deadlines so i know it will be done before the cut off for the competition but still i know i will put myself through the stress of having to perfect and rewrite a week before it's due!

Honestly, i'm seriously going to have to smack my own hand and focus really hard on the first chapter. Maybe if i set myself my own deadline, say 30 September? What if i have it written and reworked until it stuns the eyes and actually send it then? That just could work, then i can get back to the other WIP's i have going. Mmmm, bears serious thought...now on to that scene at the ballet...