Gears Turning

Did you know that I wrote a book? I did the whole deal: first draft, second draft...tenth draft. I had a published author, a creative writing professor from an Ivy League college, and my beloved English teachers as mentors. It evolved for three years, and I happily watched it grow and transform into something I was very proud of. I self-published it, then looked into "real" publishing. I wrote a quarry letter to an agent, drafted it and drafted it, and sent it off. I expectantly got shot down; who gets an agent on their first manuscript, on their first quarry, when they are in high school? I wasn't that pretentious.

But by that time I had read this story maybe a million times, been working on it for three years, I was done with my shallow immature story I wrote as an 8/9th grader. So I stopped, and haven't revisited it, or even tried to write another novel since.

I've been brought back to this from a classmate of mine, who now two years later, brought to my attention that our freshman English teacher gave her my book, she went home and read the whole thing in one sitting. I don't know what I did to deserve to that, I look back at my book now and see a sophomoric and cliche story of a teen girl trying to save her friend from ruining his own life.

I've grown so much as a writer since, I've had so many new experiences, I'm more well read, and I'm pretty sure I can do a better job now. I've been inspired to write again. With a strong female lead, who doesn't need saving, and isn't worrying about boys. She will be a role-model and will the kind of character I would want my daughter to read about.

A smart lady told me that if you don't like today's movies, make a better one. If you can't find a good book, write it. If modern music isn't doing it for you anymore, compose it.

Thank you for these gifts of inspiration, I'm enjoying my lollipops ;)

And lastly a word from Kurt Vonnegut: 8 short story tips

"1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.

2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.

3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

4. Every sentence must do one of two things — reveal character or advance the action.

5. Start as close to the end as possible.

6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet or innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them, in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.

8. Give your readers as much informations as possible, as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understand of what is going on where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages."

~Kat