Got to Get the Ball Rolling

And this is where I run into problems. Perhaps it’s because I write garbage (though my garbage isn’t too bad either) until I warm up, but I have the worst time with the beginning, just the first few pages. This is, of course, the WORST time to have a worst time. The first pages are where the hook must be. If it’s just not there, the reader will put the book down and not buy it. Likewise, the agent won’t request your full.

Here’s the prob: I have three versions (at least) of my first chapter. I keep changing it based on reader feedback. Well, now I’m getting feedback contradicting previous feedback (i.e., descriptions, history, exposition, name changes, etc). Yes, I’m tearing my hair out! My first page was posted on Dear Author on Saturday, and the critique was a little brutal, but honest. Much of the feedback there wanted me to put back stuff I’d already edited out on previous versions. Grrrrr! *frustration level rising*

My plan now? I’ll probably edit again, but this time I’ll just do what I want. I think I’ll just take the feedback I’m comfortable with. So how do you deal with conflicting advice? Do you get a lot of it to begin with? Where do you have the toughest time in your story? Any suggestions for first pages???

PS—I apologize in advance if I can’t get around to your blogs this week. I’ll try as best I can, but I’m out to sea and our bandwidth is teensy weensy on the satellite. It’s about a third the speed of dial-up, if that, and I usually can’t get the pages to load.

What Hunk of Circuitry Do You Read With? (...and Dear Author's posting my page!)

My first page will post on Dear Author this Saturday to be reviewed by the general public.  I will be utterly stripped naked to be macerated in the public eye.  I'm so nervous about it, I could hurl! (**biting fingernails**)  Someone tell me what I was thinking when I submitted myself to this?  I do realize truly that I did it for genuine feedback from other authors/readers, and I knew it could only challenge me to improve my manuscript.  But geez, my insides are twisting like a virgin's on prom night.

Anyway, enough about my upcoming roast and on to something I'm personally curious about.  If you've read my previous posts, you may know I'm not too techno-advanced (odd fact given that I'm an electronics technician).  I tend to read books the old-fashioned way with novel in hand, turning paper pages and dog-earing to mark my place (I know it's a sin, but they're my books, darn it; I do what I want).  I didn't even know what a Kindle was until recently.

I found some posts about the electronic reader technology.  I found the post on Dear Author to be pretty informative, but I'm still iffy on what to try out.  With all this mishmash of choices and features, I may just find it easiest to stick with my trusty old-fashioned, paper-lovin' ways.

So maybe you could help me decide what to try.  What reader do you use, if any?  Why is it the best choice for you?  How often do you choose it over a traditional print book?  What was it like to make the switch from print to ebook?

Found Me Some Peeps

...and I'm not talking Easter Peeps! Where do you go to find a crew that will have your back? I was struggling with this question for several days and tried a couple of options. In particular, I needed to find writing buddies.
I joined some online discussion groups. This didn't seem like such a bad idea at first, and some blogs recommended finding critique groups this way. Uh-uh. This isn't for me I figured out quickly. A critique does no good if it's coming from writers who aren't on your level or readers who don't give specific enough feedback.

Blogs will give you some really fantastic advice, but they won't read your writing, slap you when it's bad, encourage you when it's good, motivate you when you slump, and guide you when you're lost.
When I finally found a group, it was where I should've looked first. I've been using a site for the last two years with phenomenal success,  a social networking site that specializes in face-to-face contact. I finally searched for writers on Meetup and found a group that sounded right for me. Jackpot!

My first meeting was more than I could have hoped for. The group reviewed each other's work, offered specific and constructive feedback, offered encouragement, and had no problem covering any genre, including poetry and screenwriting. I got nothing but warm fuzzies about all the group members. Yes, I'm pretty sure I found me some peeps. I'm excited now to submit some of my own work to see what I can do to improve.

I wish everyone luck with finding their own peeps. Maybe you'll have a better experience with online groups, but the face time suits me well. What have you done to find your own support and encouragement?

PS, we met at All American Grill in San Diego, and I had the Salinas salad – Yum!  Highly recommended.