The Nightmare that is Editing!

I recently took it upon myself to combine two books and pare it down into one kick ass manuscript. At least that was the original intent and after peeling away close to 60 THOUSAND words, I think I’ve gotten there. The best of the two stories in one killer thriller.

But anyone who’s attempted this feat can understand the pain of looking at every chapter, every scene, every sentence and every word going – do I need this?

The exercise alone gave me a ruthless insight into editing – whether it is to shorten like in my case – or just refine a manuscript into a crisp, fast, compelling read.

It is painful to look at a beautifully written passage and shake your head saying – This is nice, but it really lends nothing to the story. And therefore it finds itself in the delete bin with the rest of the cut scenes, like trails of film on the cutting floor. Our babies dying a cruel but necessary death.

Ugh, and you thought a stake in the heart was painful!

Now that Hunting Season has been shrunken and honed to a fine read, I can get back to finishing the first draft of Georgia Rein.

To all those out there that are in the throws of editing, I feel for you, but remember – do what’s best for the story!

Backspace Conference Retrospect

I had the time of my life at this conference and met some really cool people in person that I've been trading posts with on Facebook, MySpace and of course, Backspace. Finally putting faces on names that I've chatted with beyond the small icons on their home pages is great. Just to name a few: Tamara, Jael, Karen, Brain, Chris, Sharon, Elizabeth, Elorey and Amy and some new friends including Tim, Ken, Scott, Sharon K and so many more.

The two minutes, two pages was terrifying - especially since getting up and speaking to a crowd is one of my most skittish issues - but I didn't piss my pants, collapse or worse, freeze at the podium - so that's a win. And oh - they let me read through the entire thing - no small feat! One agent wasn't into it -the other had words of encouragement and actually read the rest of the page (I had a couple lines at the top of page 3). So it wasn't the roasting of JET as I imagined it would be.

Meeting the Chief Editor of Allegory E-zine - Ty Drago (my "boss") - in person was stellar. We seem to be two sides of the same coin although he's 6"5 and little ole me is only 4"10 - more like mutt and Jeff on the visual - but the minds are dangerously alike.

Highlights beyond the phenomenal line up of panels and workshops include talking with Jonathan Maberry about writing and getting your foot in the door. Chatting with David Morrell about the love of writing and flying and discussing the merits of Final Draft with Richard Krevolin.

I ended Saturday evening having dinner with the owner of Glass House Press, Carrie White. She's fantastic and hopefully she'll consider bringing me under her label. She did take the first four chapters of Mirror Lake, so who knows, maybe I'll see my name on a shelf next year.

Hope all is well with you, my faithful followers - ciao and good night!

Backspace Conference

I'm getting ready to head down to the Backspace Conference tomorrow to meet some of the on-line writers that I've been talking to for the past year or so and I'm incredibly excited!
I'm also doing a two minutes - two pages session with a couple agents. Frankly, I'm nervous. Speaking in front of a group always makes me nervous. Just hoping I'll pull it off without looking like a total idiot - LOL.

I'm having dinner with a publisher that I've been talking to for over a year. Maybe something will come of it - but maybe it's just a dinner to finally meet in person. Who knows.
It's a tough business, tougher than the securities industry but I'm up for the challenge. I'm feeling the Irish luck smiling down on me - and it's still May - the month I seem to have incredible luck. Perhaps this will be my year.

Thanks for swinging by! Have a wonderful weekend all!

J

Has it really been that long?

I just realized how long it has been since I've been out here - oi. Sorry folks. The holidays took over - facebook took over, writing took over - you know the drill. I'm still in wait mode. Glass House Press just released their first book this month - so once the dust settles, the managing editor will have time to take a look at the re-write they have the option on. At least that's what I'm hoping for, we'll see. I'm not getting overly excited until I have that contract in my hand. In the meantime, I'm still plugging away at a mystery I started about a year ago and dabble in when I'm between novels. The short story contests over at Backspace are a great little writing fixes. And I'm taking a few writing courses to focus on polishing some of my glaring weaknesses - yes, I have those! I'll admit it. Anyhow - thanks for hanging in and being patient for me to return and write something prolific - that will happen one day, really, truly . . .

Okay maybe not - but it'll be fun in the meantime.

Have a great March and hope your April brings spring and not just the tax man!

JET

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to all!

December marked the publication of my first short story Nightmares and the Honorable Mention of another short Grayson House in the Verbs Crime Scene Contest. I finished the revision of Vengeance that I have an option on with a small publisher on the west coast and sent that off yesterday and all my holiday shopping is done.

Heavy, heavy sigh and a woohoo too!

I am gearing up for a very busy holiday season on the home front. This weekend I will have a handful of nine year old boys staying over for the celebration of my son's 9th birthday and I'm looking forward to taking them to see Bolt! I think I am going to welcome going to work on Monday if you know what I mean.

The following weekend we are having my husband's family over for our annual Christmas gathering. If everyone shows up it will be a crowd of thirty something people ranging in ages from one to 75. It is happening on the 21st which is my son's actual birthday so I'll be sure to have a second cake for that event.

Then comes Christmas. On Christmas eve, my family gathers at the house. My sister and her family spend the night and my folks re-join us in the morning for opening gifts. I always miss my brother on Christmas. He's in South Carolina and hasn't celebrated Christmas with us in quite a few years because of the distance, but we always call and say our hellos and I love yous.

My favorite Christmas tradition is watching It's a Wonderful Life with my sister after the children have gone to sleep. Our husbands usually end up downstairs drinking and playing pool, but for us, it is a few hours of nostalgia and hope in an otherwise nutty existence.

I would love to hear more about your holiday traditions!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and any other holiday that I missed that occurs in December - Here's to wishing all a happy and safe 2009!

The beauty of writing!

I had the funniest conversation with my husband this week. I was extremely frustrated with a situation at work and was ranting, which I occassionally do, if you hadn't already noted that from the title of the blog. :) Anyhow, I was in rare form, enough so that when I sat down to write, he had some sideways comment:

"That's so not fair! You get to take your aggravations out by killing people in your books! Us normal people don't have that luxury!"

To which I replied with a smile. "It's going to be a massacre tonight!"

Of course I didn't write about a massacre that night, but I did scribe one really horrible death, which was satisfaction enough to diffuse the anger I was feeling. Sweet release on paper. There is nothing quite like it!

I can't imagine what it is like not having such a satisfying creative outlet!

I learned to shoot a gun today!

Finally, after years of wondering what it feels like to hold a gun in my hand, what it feels like to pull a trigger, it is no longer a mystery. So very worth the experience. I wish I had given it a go sooner!

I was lucky enough to be coached by a friend who had an assortment of handguns for me to try, so I could get the feel of each, a unique experience to be sure. My favorite was a toss up between the 9 mm and the .40 caliber semi-automatic. I liked the weight of the .40 caliber he had, but it had a hell of a kickback, so my control wasn't as evident. The 9mm was a bit heavier with less of a kickback, and I was able to get to the point that I was hitting the target paper, not within the 9 or 10 score area, but solidly in th 8 range.

Most accurate shot was the .22 - I actually hit within the bullseye circle - not dead center but still within that inner circle with the .22 once I figured out how to use the sights correctly and once I relaxed a bit. Most of the shots with the .22 after I figured things out were within the 9 and 10 circles. This one had very little kick compared to the 9mm and the .40 caliber.

Gives me a whole new appreciation for those that are adept at shooting and a feeling of awe for those that are considered experts. Kudos to police and armed service men and women who mastered this!

All I know is I want to do it again!