Plausible Plots

Well, things aren’t exactly popping since The Ride went ‘red.’ In fact, I can’t tell any difference other than the title appears in red on the ArcheBooks (http://archebooks.com/) production list. I didn’t know what to expect but I’d hoped for some sort of immediate action by my editor. Now, I can’t help but wonder if silence is a good sign, a bad sign or means nothing at all.

The timing seems a bit bizarre, but the book I was reading this week, Stephen King’s, Lisey’s Story, had a scene about editors I really loved (and found rather ironic coming from the master of ‘taking the completely impossible and making it totally believable’). I think I can talk about it without giving the plot away for those of you who haven’t read the book yet.

It’s the part where Lisey’s thinking about her husband, Scott, a famous writer, when he’s lamenting the remark from his editor—“…plot creaks a bit here…” Meaning the editor didn’t find it plausible.

Scott ranted about the amazing true stories appearing everyday in newspapers, such as the one where a dog found its way back to Oregon three years after his owners lost him while on vacation in Florida, or a little girl emerging alive after six days trapped in a well in Texas. Such things would not be accepted as ‘reality’ in a novel and because of this, Scott says “…novelists labor under tremendous handicaps.”

And it is true, in a fiction setting, these scenarios would be shot down by an editor as too far a stretch, not likely to happen, and so on. In other words, fiction has to be believable where facts suffer no such constraints. Or, as Mark Twain put it, “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't.”

I truly hope my editor doesn’t tell me my plot creaks.

Veering off the subject a bit, I just have to say when I picture Lisey’s husband, Scott, he looks and sounds a whole lot like Stephen King. Is that planned, coincidence or just me? Or, is this book actually a creative autobiography? (Yes, I know I did a whole blog on fiction is fiction and has nothing to do with a writer’s life—but, hmmm…I just might have to change my mind.)

Thanks for stopping by. See you next Friday.

Jane Kennedy Sutton
Author of The Ride (to be released by ArcheBooks Publishing)
janekennedysutton@gmail.com
http://janekennedysutton.googlepages.com/


Tags: The Ride, Archebooks, Stephen King, Lisey’s Story, Mark Twain , truth is stranger than fiction

Going Red

It’s finally happened—I’ve gone ‘red.’ That means The Ride has officially entered the production process.

My reaction, when I saw my information in red on Tuesday, was not the one I expected. I thought I’d be ecstatic—like when I signed the publishing contract with ArcheBooks http://archebooks.com/. And, although I am excited, my initial and strongest reaction as I stared at the red print was fear.

This fear was best expressed by Sandy Lender, author Choices Meant for Gods, during my interview with her when she said, …“Seriously, once I saw that the book was in editing and things were moving along, I waited for some bizarre phone call saying, ‘Oh, Sandy, you need to rewrite it all and, by the way, you suck.’” (For the complete interview go to my July 20th blog http://janekennedysutton.blogspot.com/2007/07/interview-with-sandy-lender.html)

The logical side of me realizes it’s a silly concern because I know I would never have received a contract if that were the case. But, like the idea of a monster under the bed to a child, it’s not that easy to shake off.

Of course, I am hoping the manuscript won’t require major rewrites but I am not naïve enough to believe it’ll sail across an editor’s desk with no changes at all. The best I can hope for is that it falls somewhere in between the two.

So for the following week or two or three or more, you can find me pacing and trying not to develop the nail biting habit as I wait to hear from my editor, Vickie.

If you have any editing horror or happy stories to share, I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for stopping by. See you next week.

Jane Kennedy Sutton
Author of The Ride (to be released by ArcheBooks Publishing)
janekennedysutton@gmail.com
http://janekennedysutton.googlepages.com/


Tags: The Ride, Archebooks, Sandy Lender, Choices Meant for Gods, editing

Writer’s Block

It’s three-weeks now that The Ride has been next in line on the ArcheBooks production list and it’s making me nervous; actually, it’s making me crazy. I know I said I wasn’t going to obsess about it—I was going to go on with my life and just let it happen when it happens. That was easy to say, but not so easy to do.

I tried to go on. I really did. But, I guess I’m the type that likes to have one project neatly wrapped up and taken care of before immersing myself in another.

It was easier to think about other projects when there were manuscripts ahead of mine, but now for some reason, I can’t stand just dangling with my toe so close to the edge. “Move,” I scream silently in the mornings when I check the status. “Move!” I scream silently again in the evenings. Silent screams do not help. Maybe I should be more vocal!

I think my frustration is causing writer’s block. I sit down at the computer, ready to work, but nothing flows. It’s painful. I couldn’t even come up with a topic to blog about until Kim mentioned writing on writer’s block. How obvious. Why didn’t I think of that?

I was skimming through Stephen King’s book, On Writing, hoping for some inspiration. I don’t know about the inspiration part but I did read something that made me laugh. It also helped me to realize that all writers must suffer an occasional block sometime during their career.

It’s about James Joyce and King does mention that it is probably more myth than truth, but it is still a good story. King writes:

“According to the story, a friend came to visit him one day and found him sprawled across his writing desk in a posture of utter despair.

“‘James, what’s wrong?’ the friend asked. ‘Is it the work?’

“Joyce indicated assent without even raising his head to look at the friend. Of course it was the work; isn’t it always?

“‘How many words did you get today?’ the friend pursued.

“Joyce (still in despair, still sprawled facedown on his desk): ‘Seven.’

“‘Seven? But James…that’s good, at least for you!’

“‘Yes,’ Joyce said, finally looking up. ‘I suppose it is…but I don’t know what order they go in.’”

Have any of you suffered from writer’s block? If so, what did you do to relieve it? I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you next week.

Jane Kennedy Sutton
Author of The Ride (to be released by ArcheBooks Publishing)
janekennedysutton@gmail.com
http://janekennedysutton.googlepages.com/


Tags: The Ride, Archebooks, Stephen King, On Writing, writer’s block, James Joyce

Pre-Birth Memories

I thought that once the production list showed signs of movement, it would progress quickly. My optimism didn’t pay off because the list appears to be stalled again. I’m trying to quit obsessing about it (I only check it once or twice a day now).

It’s time to move on to other writing projects. Although, I’ll continue to work on The Ride until it’s published, I’m also back at work on the second draft of my second manuscript, tentatively titled, Reigning Cats and Dogs. Only a gazillion revisions to go before it actually becomes a novel.

In one of the early scenes of Reigning Cats and Dogs, a main character swears she remembers her own birth. It’s a scenario that I thought I’d made up, but as the saying goes, there are no original thoughts…

I discovered this while surfing the internet. How did we ever exist without it? Now, I realize I have to take things I read on the internet with a grain of salt, but I found the article by Dr. Stephen Juan on The Register, a U.K. site, interesting.

According to the article, the idea of birth memory is very controversial among human development scientists with some authorities arguing that people can remember their own birth, the first year after birth, and some even have pre-birth memories. These memories are accomplished by either “rebirthing,” use of a primal therapist, a dianetics auditor, etc. It’s an interesting article, although I didn’t understand how the Cat in the Hat experiment proved anything. (You can read the full article at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/08/the_odd_body_birth_memory/.)

The information did cause me to make some minor changes to the manuscript but it also got me thinking, can we really remember our own birth? Personally, I can’t remember what happened last week or even ten minutes ago?

So how about it? Do any of you remember your birth or have pre-birth memories? I’d love to hear from you? Your responses will be helping a writer with research. Even if you have no memories of your entry to this world, let me know your opinions on whether or not you think it’s possible.

See you next week. In the meantime, think positive thoughts so I’ll be able to transition from tweaking The Ride to focusing fulltime on Reigning Cats and Dogs.

Jane Kennedy Sutton
Author of The Ride (to be released by ArcheBooks Publishing)
janekennedysutton@gmail.com
http://janekennedysutton.googlepages.com/


Tags: The Ride, Archebooks, Cat in the Hat, birth memory, dianetics , rebirthing, Dr. Stephen Juan, The Register, original thoughts