Boarders writing a novel, part 10

[First of My Name]

I see the previous thread was locked for some reason, so here's the tenth anniversary of one of my favorite threads.

[Jaime's Wench]

I'm making my final tweaks now to the first three chapters. Then I'm printing it off and leaving it in the freezer for two weeks (I may literally do this, for fun...) before final read through before the first lit agent send out. I'm quite excited. I've never sent to a lit agent before, despite writing at least four novels before this one.

[Ebenstone]

I'm making my final tweaks now to the first three chapters. Then I'm printing it off and leaving it in the freezer for two weeks (I may literally do this, for fun...) before final read through before the first lit agent send out. I'm quite excited. I've never sent to a lit agent before, despite writing at least four novels before this one.

Did you finish the book?

[First of My Name]

I'm making my final tweaks now to the first three chapters. Then I'm printing it off and leaving it in the freezer for two weeks (I may literally do this, for fun...) before final read through before the first lit agent send out. I'm quite excited. I've never sent to a lit agent before, despite writing at least four novels before this one.

Four? That's quite a lot. Do you think they are any good?

[Littlefingers In The Air]

What do you guys think of Inhabited Spectrum as a world name?

[First of My Name]

What do you guys think of Inhabited Spectrum as a world name?

To be honest, I don't really like it. World as in planet? Or as in, the inhabited part of space? You could call your "Milky Way" that.

[Littlefingers In The Air]

To be honest, I don't really like it. World as in planet? Or as in, the inhabited part of space? You could call your "Milky Way" that.

it's the name of the planet

[First of My Name]

it's the name of the planet

My word is by no means law, but I think it's an odd name for a planet.

ETA, it's an original name though

[Jaime's Wench]

Did you finish the book?

I have, yes. It's been complete, then rewritten, and now complete again. :-)

Four? That's quite a lot. Do you think they are any good?

Five now I think about it, excluding the novel-length fanfictions. I have a concept for a sixth too that I quite wish to write. One of the other five is okay but would need extensive revisions to be publishable, which is a big shame.

[The Grey Wolf]

Congrats Jamie's Wench. Hope your first experience with lit agents goes well. Littlefinger Baelish, I read the title of your world and while my opinion too is not absolute either of course, I too found it rather strange like First of My Name, though it definitely gets points for originality.

[awesome possum]

Not a novel but three days ago I picked up an incomplete short story of about 4000 I started on in 2006. I just finished it at 10,054 words and that feels good.

[Weeping Sore]

What do you guys think of Inhabited Spectrum as a world name?

I like it. Does it have a twin planet that is uninhabited? After a while any name becomes normal, anyway. I mean The United States sort of sounds like a sci-fi entity.

[The Marquis de Leech]

Have finished fifth major novel rewrite (manuscript now sitting at 111,700 words).

[The Grey Wolf]

How many pages is that?

[The Marquis de Leech]

428 manuscript pages, double spaced.

[Jaime's Wench]

My novel is 125k now. Is that too much? I'm sending to traditional British agencies and I know they prefer most debuts to be no more than 100k with some leeway for Fantasy. Is 25k too much leeway?

EDIT - How does this sound as an "elevator pitch"? Too complicated?

Journey of Pride is a reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s King Lear, which secretly sets the bastard up as the hero and the ailing king as the villain. It centres around a civil war between three brothers and a female mercenary’s thirst for vengeance. Set in a quasi-Renaissance England, fantasy elements are minimal and the true magic is the intense conflict both between and within each main character.

[Zoë Sumra]

My novel is 125k now. Is that too much? I'm sending to traditional British agencies and I know they prefer most debuts to be no more than 100k with some leeway for Fantasy. Is 25k too much leeway?

EDIT - How does this sound as an "elevator pitch"? Too complicated?

Journey of Pride is a reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s King Lear, which secretly sets the bastard up as the hero and the ailing king as the villain. It centres around a civil war between three brothers and a female mercenary’s thirst for vengeance. Set in a quasi-Renaissance England, fantasy elements are minimal and the true magic is the intense conflict both between and within each main character.

Get the extent down to 120K maximum via line editing. In a 125K book, this should be relatively easy.

Your pitch doesn't actually say what happens - a lot about the feel and the inspiration, but not about the plot. Can you work in why the female mercenary is seeking revenge?

Involving all kinds of people is the best way to do it, but don't just make a character gay, or anything for that matter, just for the sake of it. It has to fit the story and the world you've built. It's been a temptation for me to write a gay character in some of my stuff, but it feels forced and a novelty for the story I'm writing. Think of Renly and Loras. It serves a purpose for the story, even in though it is only implied.

I disagree to a certain extent. A lot of characters' straightness does not affect the plot, so why should a character's gayness necessarily affect the plot? Sure, we can all point to many instances where sexuality does matter - instances that are not limited to romance subplots etc. - but for just as many characters, it's immaterial.

[Jaime's Wench]

Get the extent down to 120K maximum via line editing. In a 125K book, this should be relatively easy.

Your pitch doesn't actually say what happens - a lot about the feel and the inspiration, but not about the plot. Can you work in why the female mercenary is seeking revenge?

Merci beaucoup! I've tweaked it to: It is a reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s King Lear, which secretly sets the bastard up as the hero and the ailing king as the villain. It centres on a female mercenary’s thirst for vengeance against the King of Alborn, who killed her mother. To achieve this she must find a place for herself in the bloody civil war between the king’s three sons.

I disagree to a certain extent. A lot of characters' straightness does not affect the plot, so why should a character's gayness necessarily affect the plot? Sure, we can all point to many instances where sexuality does matter - instances that are not limited to romance subplots etc. - but for just as many characters, it's immaterial.

Dumbledore!

[TrackerNeil]

I'm making my final tweaks now to the first three chapters. Then I'm printing it off and leaving it in the freezer for two weeks (I may literally do this, for fun...) before final read through before the first lit agent send out. I'm quite excited. I've never sent to a lit agent before, despite writing at least four novels before this one.

Congrats! There's a feeling of satisfaction to actually finishing your work that just can't be duplicated. Personally, I find that talent is overrated; it's the ability to get stuff done, blended with talent, that's to be envied.

[The Marquis de Leech]

Dumbledore!

*Resists temptation to start ranting about Death of the Author.*

As far as sexuality of characters go, I think the important thing is not to force it. The sole POV character in my novel is bisexual (a fact that I stumbled across by sheer accident), and it isn't really that important to the plot, but it's still certainly there, because, well, sex is important to this character.