Sifting Through Opposing Feedback

 

Sydenham this way - and that way

Photo by engineroomblog (click pic for link)


First, thanks so much for all of your nice comments and congratulations yesterday.  You guys are the bestest!

 

 

Now, because I had the opportunity to review the judges' comments and revise my submission before sending it along to the editor, I spent the entire afternoon yesterday obsessing over two paragraphs.  Last night, I finally hit the point of mostly happy with it and went ahead and sent it in.  If I looked at it any longer, I know I would have ended up changing too much.  The entry got me to the finals, so I'm trying to go with the ain't-broke-don't-fix-it (well, don't fix it too much) mentality--a philosophy that is hard for me to embrace at times. So I have officially let it go and am giving it over to the Fates at this point.
But as I was going through the judges' comments and emailing back and forth with my crit group to get their input, my head started to swim.  It's amazing how subjective this whole writing thing is.  One reader will point out how much they love something, then another one will say I totally blew that part.  
When I threw out options to my crit partners, each had different opinions of which version I should go with (and gave completely valid rationales behind why there opinion was such.)  I'd read one of their suggestions, and be like, yes that makes so much sense.  But then I'd read another's opposing opinion and her reasoning, and be like, damn, that makes total sense too.  Gah!  
So it makes me wonder, how do you know which advice to take and which to toss? Ultimately, I went with what had the best "feel" to me when I read it out loud, but believe me, I agonized over every freaking word.
So how about you?   When you get opposing opinions that all make sense, how do you determine your course?  
 
**Today's Theme Song**
"Brain Stew" - Green Day
(player in sidebar--go ahead, take a listen)

 

 

Face Off Friday: Movie vs. Book (and Contest Winner!)

 

The results are in and the winner of the gift certificate is....at the bottom of the page. :)
First, I wanted to talk about movies and books. Tonight I'm going to see New Moon (yes, I've told you, I'm a Twilight dork, so I'm braving the crowds on opening night.) But, I'm going in with relatively low expectations.
Although I am looking forward to the eye candy, I know that movies typically don't live up to experience of the book. Part of this is because movies can't really "tell" you much, they have to "show" everything which, of course, is preferable in novels as well. But it means we can't hear as much internal dialogue and voice and we have to rely on the actors to nail how we pictured the characters reacting. It's almost impossible for a movie to meet the level our imaginations can achieve when reading.
So here's my Face Off Friday question:
 
Should you read the book first so that you can experience the story in it's pure form before seeing the movie?

Or, should you see the movie first and enjoy it for what it is before your expectations skyrocket, then read the book and enrich the experience?
 
I personally am a read first, see movie second person. Although on the few occasions where I saw the movie first (John Grisham's The Firm), I liked the movie much more than I probably would have had I read the book first.
So how about you? What's your style? And have you ever found a movie that was BETTER than the book or that perfectly lived up to your expectations?
Also, just a note, but I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving week. I am hosting family for the week and am doing all the cooking for Turkey Day, so instead of new blog posts, I will be re-running some of my earlier posts that I did before I had most of you following. I will still be responding to comments and such, but I probably won't be making it to very many blogs.
Okay and finally, the winner of the certificate is....NATALIE MURPHY!!! Congrats! I'll be emailing you later today.
Thanks to all of you who entered and I loved all the blog suggestions. I will definitely be covering those in future posts! :)
Here's the random.org breakdown, which picked the winner:

List Randomizer

There were 31 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

  1. Natalie Murphy
  2. Gavin
  3. UberGrumpy
  4. Donna Hole
  5. Angela
  6. Jessica Kennedy
  7. Fiction Vixen
  8. Stephanie H.
  9. Shannon O'Donnell
  10. Susan R. Mills
  11. jbchicoine
  12. Dawn Hullender
  13. Julie
  14. Julie Dao
  15. Amber Tidd Murphy
  16. Joshua
  17. Stephanie Thornton
  18. Stephanie L. McGee
  19. Ash. Elizabeth
  20. Angie Ledbetter
  21. jenheadjen
  22. AjFrey
  23. Tabitha Bird
  24. Patti
  25. Alice in Wonderland
  26. CKHB
  27. Jennifer Shirk
  28. Angie
  29. melane
  30. sherrinda
  31. Makita Jazzqueen

Timestamp: 2009-11-20 15:40:43 UTC

**Today's Theme Song**
"Uprising"-- Muse
(in honor of Twilight, a little Muse--my player isn't working, i'm trying to fix it)

 

100th Post Contest!

 

I'm ready for syndication, I've hit 100 episodes posts! Whew, time flies when you're having fun. I had no idea when I started blogging a few months ago (with only my husband and mother following) that it would turn into such a great part of my day and that I would meet so many wonderful people. So thanks! You guys have made this an awesome experience.
And as a thank you to all of you who take the time to read my posts, I'm offering a little gift. Leave a comment in today's post telling me what topic you would like to see covered on here in a future post then leave your email address. All those comments will be entered to win a...

$15 Amazon gift certificate!
Rules:
You must be a follower (if you aren't already, it counts if you go ahead and join now)
You must leave an email address so I know where to send the certificate
Entries will be accepted until midnight (central time) tomorrow night
You must offer a suggestion for a post
*Lurkers, it will not be held against you if this is the first post you've ever commented on. :)
Winner will be chosen randomly and announced on Friday's blog post. Good luck!

**Today's Theme Song**
"Thank You For Being a Friend"-- Andrew Gold
(player in sidebar, take a listen)
*Yes this is a remake of the Golden Girls theme song*

 

Writing Contests: Should you take a shot?

 

It seems to be the time of year for writing contests. Besides the small ones on blogs for opening lines and such, there are dozens of more formal ones put on by local chapters of writer's groups. These contests usually involve submitting part of your manuscript (15, 25, 50 pages depending on contest) and a synopsis or query letter. In the first round, your work is evaluated by a panel of judges which typically includes published authors. Then if you final, you move on to another judge--and here's the exciting part--this judge is usually an editor at a relevant publishing house.
These contests cost money, which I know makes some think--wait, I'm paying for a contest. Aren't those usually free? But keep in mind that these are often put on by local chapters who have their own administrative costs to run such a venture and the fees are usually reasonable--usually around $25. If you enter at the national level, like RWA's Golden Heart, then the price goes up.
So is entering a contest worth that $20-$50 bucks you're shelling out? Well, I've been giving this some thought since there are a number of contests with upcoming deadlines and here are the benefits I see:
1. You get to see your score sheets and feedback from the judges. So basically a critique, in some cases, by a published author.
2. If you place, you now have something to add to that bio paragraph in your query letter.
3. Impartial feedback. These judges are not your mom, your friends, or even your critique buddies whom you already have a relationship with. The judges don't even know your name when they are looking at the manuscript.
4. There are usually cash prizes if you place.
5. Did I mention that if you final, your entry usually goes to an acquiring editor? Hello, nurse! No slush pile to sit in--your work in front of someone who can offer you a contract.
On the negative side...
--Winning doesn't guarantee publication
--Judging, like anything else, is subjective. I've heard of people winning one contest and then not even finaling in a another with the same exact manuscript.
--It costs money
--If you have a book that doesn't neatly fit into a category, it can be hard to figure out the right section to enter your manuscript in.
And just as a side note, many of these contests are run by romance writers chapters. However, that doesn't mean your book has to be straight up romance. Almost every contest I've looked at has a young adult category and a mainstream fiction category--as long your book has "romantic elements", you can enter. Of course, there are other contests for specific things like memoirs, screenplays, paranormal, horror, mystery, thrillers, etc. If you want a comprehensive list of a variety of contests, check out this link. Although this site lists last years dates, these contests are run yearly, so check out the provided links on the page to get updated info.
As for me, I've decided the benefits outweigh any drawbacks. It can't hurt to take a shot, right? I'm entering my romance in three contests this year. I've never done one of these before, so I'll be sure to let you guys know what the experience is like once I get my results sometime in Jan./Feb./March
How about you? Are any of you going to enter any contests this year? For those of you who have done the contest thing, what was your experience like? Was it worth it?

**Today's Theme Song**
"Hey Man Nice Shot" - Filter
(player in sidebar, go ahead and take a listen)

 

Work In Progress Wednesday #4

 

*wipes sweat off forehead* Hallelujah. I just fixed my internet. After spending my entire evening on the phone with Time Warner (fun times), I went to bed and still had no internet. This morning, nothing had changed. So I've spent the last two hours playing with buttons and functions I shouldn't touch and lo and behold--internet! I have no idea what I did to fix it (something about DNS servers and IP addresses, who knows), but I'm not complaining.
Okay, so now for good 'ol WIP Wednesday. The one benefit of having no internet yesterday was that I was able to finish the rough draft of Wanderlust. Woo-hoo! It's a thousand words shy of where I wanted to be, but I'm a layerer. When I revise, I add words vs. cut, so I don't doubt that it will get to where it needs to be during revision. Therefore, I'm going to focus on the fact that I was able to type THE END. :)
As for the other manuscript, it is now with two agents. I sent out my newly revised query letter a week or so ago and received a request for a partial! :) So that means one agency has a full, the other a partial. I'm sure it will be a decent wait to hear back from either of them, but I'll let everyone know when I have more info.
This week has also been a good week for contests for me. I won a three chapter critique from Once Upon a Crime, so I'm excited about that. I'll let ya'll know how it goes. And I also was selected for a spot in a romance critique group, Rumored Romantics, over at Lynnette Labelle's site Chatterbox Chitchat. I'm really happy about becoming a member because I have been wanting to join a critique group for a while. Hopefully, all these things will help me grow as a writer.
So I think that's it for now. I'll be spending my day doing some beta reading and critiquing since I was sans computer yesterday.
How's your WIP going? Feel free to leave a link for your WIP post in the comments.