Friday Funk

 Friday was not a good day for me. 

My dog was deathly ill and I was thinking we were going to have to put her down. Even though my head was in a bad place, I still had to go on with my day, which included
 a writing workshop led by Chuck Sambuchino.

Note:I highly recommend any workshop led by Chuck. He is an awesome presenter--which was good because he did every presentation for the day.

One of the presentations included the reading of a page aloud as five agents and editors listened and raised their hand when they would quit reading if the page came across their desk in a query.

I had reworked the first page of my WIP and sent it past my wrangler buds and felt pretty confident. And then, Chuck started reading it aloud. And I was really glad it was anonymous, because I actually winced when he got to the third paragraph. Winced! And I was the author. And  I got five rejections. Quick rejections. Fourth paragraph--and my paragraphs are tiny--rejections.

So, when I went into my consult, I pitched a different WIP and totally tanked it. The agent intern asked questions I wasn't prepared to answer and suggested that I might want to make it middle grade instead of YA.

I spent the rest of the weekend reevaluating my writing plan--what I wanted to write. Because honestly, I wasn't feeling it on anything. I've been in a writing funk for a while, not totally committing to anything which means not making a lot a progress on anything either.


Then on Tuesday, I was scrolling through the comments on Nan's post and came across Claudia's recommendation of The Snowflake Method. And since I'm a pantser who doesn't think that much ahead--which I think is why I'm struggling of late--I decided to buy it. Thank you, Kindle, for immediate access. 

And I decided to use the method on a new WIP, an idea I've had for the last five years but haven't done anything with as of yet. But, it's an idea close to my heart and every time I hear "Hey, there Delilah" by Plain White T's, I want to write this book.

So--I've started the new WIP via the Snowflake method and I've actually thought further ahead in the book and into the characters than I've ever done before.

 I like the book so much that I ordered a print copy from B&N--because they didn't have one in stock at the store--so I can make notes and highlight things. Kindle works great for reading books, but not as good for instructional reading/learning. 

So, thank you, Claudia Pfeiffer for the awesome recommendation. 

And if anyone is wondering, our dog turned the corner Friday night and came back to us. I think the meds finally kicked in after three days and she's on the mend. I'm taking her back in this afternoon to have her blood tested, but I feel optimistic. 

And I feel optimistic about my new WIP...I'm directing my sails...