From Despair to Hope

As I wrote the title for this post, it occurred to me that it fits some of us who are in the long slog to find an agent or publisher.  When friends tell us it’s just a matter of time, we’re grateful for their support, but it’s hard to feel encouraged when we’re headed across the marsh in the dark and see no glimmer of light at the far side.

But really, I intended the title to refer to the books we write.  I once heard an interview (sorry, I can’t remember the author being interviewed) in which an author was asked about the darkness in his (or her) novels.  The author said the use of darkness was to get to the light.  I think that’s the modus operandi of the best novelists in any genre.  Of course, I know that some great novelists end their stories with despair or grief or chaos, probably because that’s the marsh they’re slogging through in their own lives. But most of us, as readers, want to be inspired by a character moving through a struggle in a realistic way, so that, while we’re not served an unrealistic “happily ever after” for this character, we are left standing on higher ground.  I believe the best novels reveal chaos in order to get to calm, fear to reach courage, hatred to discover love, vengeance to turn to forgiveness, despair to find hope.  That’s what most of us want.  It’s what we need.  So in Breath of Angel, you’ll find plenty of fear, hatred, vengeance, and despair. But beyond that marsh, you’ll also find courage, love, and hope.

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From Degas’ Muse to Mine

Overheard from Edgar Degas’ muse:  ”Painting is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do.” Ditto for writing, I say.  The more I know, the more I know I don’t know.

Another milestone met today:  I received my copy of the signed contract for Breath of Angel in the mail. I must say that’s a relief. My cowboy grandad always said, “A deal’s not a deal until you’ve got the money in your hand and you’re running down the street like a turkey.”  Make way – turkey coming through.  It’s definitely official now.

I’m still awaiting line edits, which were delayed about a week because of another project the editor had to attend to. But she says I should have her suggested line edits by the end of the month. Soon.

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How Many Times Can You Begin?

Start.  Initiate.  ”Go into the first part of a process” (Webster).  I must have written the beginning of my first novel, Breath of Angel, fifty times.  I rewrote the entire novel over a dozen times.  Ditto for my query letter, which can be as hard to write as the novel, only in a different way, because it requires distilling an entire book-length manuscript into two to three sentences – one short paragraph that’s interesting enough to get an agent or editor to ask to read the full manuscript.  I spent years submitting query letters to agents and editors and rewriting, rewriting, rewriting.  I say this to let non-writers know how long the process can take and to encourage writers who may be in the same process to keep going.  I was learning how to write, and my novel was teaching me.  (Although I’ve been told that each novel teaches you how to write that novel and you have to learn to write the next one when you get to it.)

Anyway, after several years of this, along with critiques from an astute group of writer friends, I discovered two readers who said the same thing:  About a third of the way through the novel, the story really got going, and after that, they couldn’t put it down.  A third of the way in?  Obviously I needed to go back to the beginning.  And rewrite the first third of the novel, deleting a lot of scenes and even characters.  I’d have to add new scenes.  And characters.  Then weave back through the novel to make sure all the new threads were sewn into the story and the old threads taken out.  In other words, a lot of work.  Begin again.  But that’s what made the difference.  Wow, am I glad I did the work!

Not all my writer friends have had to work this long on their novels before being published.  They became a support group for me and kept saying, “It’s just a matter of time.”  And it was.  So whatever endeavor you are in, persist if it’s what you really want. And I wish for you a wonderful support group who encourages you to begin as many times as you need to.

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Two Questions that Lit the Way

A question started it all. I was working on my MFA at Vermont College of Fine Arts, when Ellen Howard, my wonderful first semester adviser, asked, “What are you afraid of?” At the time, I was working on picture books, and her question made me realize I was staying in my comfort zone. What was I afraid of? Writing a novel. What a daunting task! I was afraid I’d never finish. But there lay the challenge. If I was too afraid to start, of course I’d never finish. So I determined to begin. The next challenge was how? Again, a question gave me the answer. This time the question came from a book about writing – I don’t remember the title, but the question was, “What is the strongest emotion you’ve ever felt?” Then came the suggestion: start with that feeling. I knew exactly what my strongest emotion had been: the angry hurt of being betrayed. So I started Breath of Angel with a girl who had been betrayed. At first that betrayal was central to the novel, but as I continued to write and rewrite, it receded into the background. It’s still there, as is the struggle to forgive. But now it’s woven into the other layers. Sometimes it’s the right question that lights the way forward.

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What’s Breath of Angel About?

I just did an interview for a marketing CD for my upcoming novel, Breath of Angel. As usual, I thought of wonderfully brilliant comments to make AFTER it was all done.  Oh well.  Maybe next time.  Anyway, as you follow along, I thought you should know what my YA fantasy is about.  (You may decide you don’t want to follow along!)  So here’s the blurb:  A young priestess is drawn into a long-standing feud between two immortal brothers who have destroyed the stairway to heaven, trapping angels in the world of humans.  For the stairway to be restored, an ancient debt must be paid, which involves the young priestess’ destiny.  Stay tuned for more info.

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Jumping Genres

Can a writer of preschool music and spiritual education materials write young adult novels – fantasy novels to be exact? Yes! I’m jumping genres and finding it a delight. I’ve spent the past six years writing YA fantasy. In the spring of 2009, I found a wonderful agent, and this summer, she found my publisher, Waterbrook/Multnomah, an arm of Random House. I just signed a contract for the first two novels in a series called The Angelaeon Cycle. Summer has been full of rigorous fun revising the first novel, Breath of Angel, which will come out in May or June of 2011. You’re invited to come along for the ride on this blog as the novels move toward publication. I’m waiting right now to hear from my editor about line edits. (Typos, subject/verb agreement, consistency – the little stuff that really matters. Hooray for editors!) Book covers, production issues, and marketing/PR kinds of things are still to come. I’ll keep you posted.

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