Pitching

The Matterhorn. 

It's that stage again. The one I keep avoiding, putting off and then forcing myself to do as a necessary chore. Then, of course, I don't do a very good job. How nice if I could learn to love pitching my novel to an agent!

Here's what some of the experts say - first of all Blake Snyder, the Save the Cat man

• the pitch should be somewhat ironic (huh? don't get that, especially as he's American and there is this great myth that Americans don't get irony at all)
• paint a compelling mental picture (I try, I try!)
• give an idea of genre and market (Well, OK, but my book isn't like any other book out there. And it seems a little conceited to liken my work to Sansom or Gregory or any other successful novelist. Can anyone imagine a mix of Sansom and Gregory? I'm not sure I can.)
• give the work a killer title (Yes, of course. Easier said than done. When I look at the half dozen titles my wip has had over the last three years, I feel like throwing myself under a bus. No, change that - I'll toss my wip under a bus.)

Other experts say: state who the hero is, his goal, why he needs it and what stops him attaining it. Focus on the conflict at the heart of the novel. (A little more practical than Snyder's instructions, so I'll remember this)

Rachelle Gardner asks:

• what's the story? RG has a blog post which claims that pitchers often tell her the emotional theme or journey of the hero but don't tell her THE STORY. H'mmm. Food for thought there.
• Give your protgonist's choices, and the conflicts he faces
• Consequences - what happens if he doesn't attain his goals

I know the answer to all those bullet points, but putting them all together in vibrant exciting prose is going to be hard going. Sigh. It's got to be done. Wish me luck.

PS Have just heard the York Minster does not want Richard III to be interred there. It's quite happy for Leicester to have him. I guess York just can't cope with any more tourists than it already has.

Work and bridges

Work is progressing nicely. I'm still fiddling about with KT as it goes through the critique group, but the real concentration is now on reworking Shadows into something more worthwhile. The original word count was 54,000 and that seems way too low, and I think even lower than that for the original Triskelion publication. No wonder one reviewer called it a novella.

But a writer's life is a constant learning curve. What seemed fine then seems weak now. The surprise is that it is only two years ago, maybe three.

Right now I'm working out the plot on a Snyder-style sheet and it is going well. Lots of scope for using coloured pens, which makes me feel industrious and creative. But seriously, the conflict is definitely beefed up and it is easy keeping track of plot-points via the worksheet. Sometimes it can be hard to remember exactly where in the story an important move is made, but this way makes it easy. No longer am I wondering 'did he say that before she went into town, or after she fell in the pool?' Now I check the sheet and there it is.

I'm debating changing the KT title to something more explanatory. Someone asked me what Keep Trust meant, what kind of story did it hint at?

It is the motto of an old Scottish house and of course it means that if you make a promise you keep it.

Originally I thought that would be quite clear, but now I'm not so sure. Perhaps Shadows deserves a new title, too. I wonder how much has to be re-written before it is classed as a "new work?" I suppose there will be a definition somewhere out there. I'd better go check.

I hinted a few days ago that Newcastle was a city of bridges. Well, here are a few shots to give you a taste. The one to the right is a shot from the east end of Newcastle Quayside, looking west towards the Sage (the silver slug) and the newest Millenium bridge.

Behind that are the older bridges.

The shot through the trees is of the iconic Tyne Bridge (1929).

The third picture show the the Swing bridge (1873) and the High Level bridge (1848) with a train going over the top. The road runs on the lower level. Behind that is the Metro Rail bridge, otherwise known as The Queen Elizabeth Bridge (1981).

There's another bridge beyond that - the Redheugh Road Bridge pronounced [ˈrɛdhju:f]) opened in 1983.

The Black Cat

Two pictures taken on one walk - and how very different! Both autumnal and both pleasing in their own way. It occurs to me now (thank good ness it didn't occur to me on the walk!) that this dark and gloomy foresty habitat is probably the sort of country the fabled Black Cat of Tynedale stalks. According to local people the panther-like creature lives in the forests south of Hexham and believe me there is a lot of open and wooden space in Hexhamshire.

Since Wednesday I'm ashamed to say I've had only one day writing. Friday was my local authors' group meet, and because I tagged on a visit to my local farm shop - it was only a small detour - and stocked up on Aberdeen Angus sausages - yum! - that took a good chunk out of the day.

Saturday I spent my time fiddling about with a story board as described in Save the Cat by Blake Snyder. I'd already roughed it out on Thursday, and went back to it with a vengeance using small green and blue post-it notes in a large spiral drawing pad that opens out to quite a size so there's lots of scope. Trouble was I've had these particular post-its for more than a year and the glue seems to have weakend. Every time I pick up the drawing pad at least one little post-it floats to the floor.

At first it was tricky to get the hang of his act breaks and turning points. Not difficult, but time consuming to get the sequence correct. Once I had it, I couldn't understand why I'd taken so long. Does it work? I think it does. It certainly clarifies the story. I used to think I planned a story before I began writing, but more and more I find the story evolves and changes as I go and I find myself getting to the end and then thinking oh but it would be better if.... and off I go, re-writing.

So next time, I'm playing on the story board before I put a finger on the PC.

If you want to find out more about the Black Cats, click
Here

If only...

Lots of water coming down the Tyne today after all the rain. The river looks high, but not noticeable so until it hits the weir - and then look!

No salmon leaping today.

"The spine of your story is defined as what happens to your hero as we chart his transformation from the start of your tale to its finish. The demarcations of growth that hero goes through IS the story."

Quote gleaned from Blake Snyder's blog today. I wish I'd read this before I started writing my Victorian piece, because I got in a tangle with it. The happy couple had adventures, sure - but I'm not sure they transformed. I don't think they grew in understanding by one teensy, tiny inch. In fact, they didn't seem much different at the end of the story to how they were when they began.

Soon I shall be concentrating on them totally, and they'd better look out. I've only 40 pages of a last edit to do on WsB and will complete that tomorrow morning. Then I have the last three chapters of HsD to edit - funny how I've fallen into this trap of doing things in tandem. That may take a day or two. Then I will be clear to concentrate on one story and that, I can tell you, will be a relief. Though I live in fear that all 3 heroes will merge into one, and thank the Lord that doublet and hose, like knee breeches and cravats, are a world away from frock coats and Norfolk jackets. The costume angle keeps me sane!