Hotdogs and Fireworks

The May 24th Victoria Day long weekend has finally arrived. This is the first holiday weekend of the year when Canadians can run around outside wearing shorts and T-shirts. It's time to take the cover off the air conditioner and clean the barbecue grill. Last night's fireworks were noisy and colourful and they went on a little too long. At least, I think 1:00 a.m. is too long and so did poor Little Bear who is terrified of anything that goes BANG! She does love playing in the sprinkler and it's a great way to keep her clean. No bathtub for this dog. The first time we tried to put her in the tub, she made a huge fuss. I was afraid the neighbours would think we were killing her, so no more indoor baths. In the winter she rolls around in the snow and during the hot months she plays with the hose or sprinkler.

I'm afraid my writing has taken the back burner for the past month. My bout of pneumonia took a long time to heal, partly because my doctor misdiagnosed me and the first week of meds didn't help at all. I have a little more energy now, just in time to start planting flowers, herbs and vegetables. There's a payoff to all the hard work. During the summer I love to sit outside on the deck and edit my manuscript while glancing up occasionally to admire the garden.

Since I haven't written for the past month, I'm reluctant to get back into my manuscript and I'm not far enough along to just pick up the pieces and continue. I've completed the prologue and two chapters, about fifty pages, and I'm ready to introduce the antagonist. This person is not bad, in fact, the protagonist is rather evil in his own curious way. The antagonist is a good cop with personal problems that make him vulnerable to the main character's wants and needs.

I spent most of last evening reviewing my first draft chapters. It's surprising how the characters are already taking on distinctive personalities and telling me what they should say and do. Of course I listen to them and follow through. Although I write long, detailed outlines, my finished novels rarely resemble the original concepts. I think this novel may be the exception. The outline has been sitting in a drawer since 1993. I've pulled it out once every year, hoping it would speak to me, but it wasn't until last December that I felt I was ready to tackle the four-book series. Details that had eluded me until now began to emerge. Characters, who had been bit players in the outline, have miraculously developed temperaments and egos. If I'm lucky, the novel might write itself. 

My Journey Thus Far

I've been writing for about twenty years and publishing short stories in anthologies and best selling women's magazines for a about fifteen years. Like most writers, I have a few mediocre unfinished novels gathering dust in the closet. More about them another day. Queries for my current novel have been making the rounds to literary agents for a couple of months. Since this is a Canadian novel, I have concentrated my search on agents in Canada and the United Kingdom. I had a hit the other day from an agent in Montreal. He emailed to say my novel sounded interesting and would I send a few chapters for him to read. I wasn't sure what he meant by the first few chapters, especially since my query had included the first chapter and a brief synopsis in the body of the message. Most agents ask for fifty pages so I felt that was a good number to send.

I'm feeling lucky, crossing my fingers and toes that this is the right agent for me. I'm quite used to rejection letters. They don't bother me anymore. I realise that agents are extremely busy people and marketing a new writer to publishing houses isn't easy. What I hate is the way some agents don't bother to reply if they aren't interested in manuscripts. Even a rejection form is better than not hearing back. The rudest rejection I received for a novel query happened about ten years ago. I opened my self-addressed-stamped-envelope and saw my query letter with 'NOT FOR ME' written across the page. I've heard worse stories from other authors, but I still think if that agent took the time to write a reply he could have used a kinder tone.

Currently I have two short stories being considered by magazine editors. One at Woman's World in the U.S. and the other at Woman's Weekly in England. They're tough markets to crack, but once you get a few rejections under your belt and an editor sees promise in your writing, they'll make suggestions and invite you to resubmit revised manuscripts. It takes months to hear back, mostly because editing departments have had to cut corners and reduce staff. I used to hear back after one month, but now it takes four to six months. It sucks if they reject your story, because this is one market that I don't send to multiple magazine editors. I am, what is called, a Regular Contributor to several magazines, but it doesn't matter how many times your work has been published. Each time I receive my contributor's copy and see my byline above or below the story I'm thrilled.

I'm going to attend my writing circle tonight with a few pages to read aloud from my novel in progress. I've been a member of the same group since 1994 and I can't imagine submitting work to editors or agents unless my trusted colleagues have critiqued my work. We usually head off to the nearest pub afterwards to discuss books and movies. Lately the drinking crowd hasn't been joining us and we've switched venues to the nearest coffee shop. Hopefully when the weather is warmer, we'll return to our favourite haunt and sit outside where we can enjoy the sounds of birds and the gentle breezes from the lake.