Heptadecagon

I'm in the middle of another revision for my YA book, Beyond the Trees . So far, I've sent out a total of 30 query letters (over the last year and a half), and no one (not one) has asked for even a partial manuscript. Which means that I need to revise something...the query letter, the first pages, maybe even the whole book. So yesterday, I looked at the first three chapters (the ones that most people will ask you to attach with your query letter) and realized that I'm not happy with the opening. I don't have a memorable first line, and while I do think the actual story is good, I need to make sure people want to read from the beginning. (I think I knew this before I started querying, but by golly, I want to get this book out there!) Hence, my quest to find a great first line, a wonderful opening chapter, and a means into the reader's heart. Of course, I have my own thoughts on what makes a great first line, but as I learned from a writing conference I attended...

As you all know, my three Rs are reading, (w)riting, and running. I'm taking a hiatus from running right now, in an effort to let my pubic (there it is again, Nikki!) symphysis heal. But I'm not letting up on the (w)riting and reading. If I did, I'd probably--no certainly--go insane. And while my reading is mostly for pleasure, I glean information from everything I read, and tuck it away for possible future use. I see what works, and what doesn't, whose style I might want to emulate, and where I can go in a new, different direction. I also look for mistakes--from everything grammatical to repetitive exposition or dialogue to basic lack of research. Sadly, I ran into a book recently that, while lauded as a wonderful tale and the first in a trilogy of YA books (now that is something that's starting to sound very repetitive), is lacking in the research department. Woefully lacking, if you don't mind my use of an adverb. Case in point? The author's use of ...

There was a point in my life, almost twenty years ago now, where I felt that I was no longer in control of my life. I didn't feel as though someone else was running it, but I veered toward the notion that no matter what I did, I couldn't quite come up with a way to keep my life on the path I'd chosen. I kicked, I yelled, I groaned, and I complained. Nothing helped. Until I realized, that sometimes, you need to relax and become peaceful before you can move forward. That until you're willing to shut up and listen, you hear nothing. That sometimes, you can't do anything about what's happening to you and your life EXCEPT choose which reaction you're going to have. That's where I'm at with this writing gig. I can only do so much: write what I think is the best piece I can write; query the agents that I think might like said piece; attend the proper workshops to meet people and learn the craft. After that, there's nothing I can do. So, I'm givi...

DISCLAIMER: BARBARA H. STOP READING NOW. YES, THAT MEANS YOU, OR THE STORY WILL BE SPOILED. UNLESS YOU WANT IT TO BE SPOILED. AND THANKS FOR READING, BARBARA, BECAUSE REALLY, IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME. I SHOULD ALSO SAY THAT ANYONE ELSE WHO'D LIKE TO READ THIS MANUSCRIPT (KELSEY -- IF YOU HAVE TIME, BECAUSE I APPRECIATE YOU, TOO) AND LET ME KNOW WHAT THEY THINK, THEY SHOULD STOP NOW AS WELL. WAIT, THAT MIGHT BE MY WHOLE READERSHIP. AH SHOOT, GO AHEAD, IF YOU DARE. An author once told me that "publishing is a capricious business" and when she made the statement, I thought to myself, Then why in the hell am I even trying? Will I be a success? And by success, I simply mean will I ever get published, traditionally, so that I can see my book on a store shelf? Who knows -- the business changes with the tides, and one agent's idea of what they are looking for is different from the agent in the next cubicle. Yet, I keep trying. Three novels finished (two of which are polish...