Wednesday, December 30, 2015

The Year of Trying

At the end of the year, I can safely say that 2015 was better than 2014.  Granted, considering everything I wrote about in last year's final entry, 2015 would have had to work damn hard to be as bad as 2014 was.  But all the same, it's worth saying.

To say I went through some changes this year would be a mild understatement.  I packed up my entire life and left New Mexico, drove myself halfway across the country, and arrived here in Washington on the first of March.  I then spent nearly six months unemployed before landing an awesome job.  (Totally worth it.)  And somewhere in between, I wrote two books.

I am very, very happy to say that neither of those books sucked.

One of them, which I've only referred to as the crazy dream book, was an experiment that didn't work out.  At its heart, and as I've mentioned before, it was an attempt to take a piece of fanfiction I wrote many years ago and make it legit.  I tried rewriting the plot several months later, but determined it wasn't going to work.  Despite that, some part of me still wants this to happen, and odds are good I'll hold onto the idea in my head for a long time.

That's why I've never told anyone the book's title.  For some reason, it feels like the magic of this mad little story would disappear if I told anyone what it's meant to be called.  So I won't, not until I can make it work and let other people read it.  It might never happen, but I can accept that; I've been at this too long to think that I'll get to tell every story I have in my head.

The other book I wrote this year was THE BOOK OF LOST RUNES.  This one means a lot to me, not just for all the work I've put into it but because of the people it's about.  At least half of the books I've written have starred Shiloh & Alexi in one incarnation or another.  I feel like I do better writing them than anyone else, and with this book, I feel like I've come closer to getting down who they're supposed to be than ever before.

And that is the book I'm currently querying.

The query process is no less nerve-wracking for having confidence in the book.  But no matter what problems I see with BoLR, when I read it, I know that it's a good story and worth trying to get published.  And something has happened with this book that's never happened before - I'm actually getting some interest from agents.  Nothing definite yet, but a few nibbles, enough to reassure me that I'm doing something right.  I've paused my agent search for the holidays, but once the new year starts, I'll be right back at it.

Because, of course, the best thing to do when an agent wants to read some of your book is to query even more agents.  In case they want to read some of it too.  ^_^

As for 2016, I'm not sure.  I'd like to write another two books, as that seems like a good plan and it worked out well for me this year.  I'd also like to have some stories that I'm sure about writing, as that seems like an even better plan and not doing that is part of why 2014 sucked so much.  >_<  I have one plot that's complete and has been for many months; I figured out the one thing that was wrong with it a while back and it's been sitting ready since then.

I also have three or four different plots-in-progress I'm trying like all hell to figure out so I can turn them into actual stories.  Would that everything worked out smoothly when I'm trying to get it out of my head and onto the page.

But I'll keep trying, because that's the only thing I can do.  And knowing that things are working a little bit better now is excellent motivation.

Next week: the first IWSG of 2016.

11 comments:

  1. Sounds like a busy year in so many ways. AND you got a lot done. Congrats on the positive vibes from agents. Maybe 2016 will even bring more great news.

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    1. Thanks! I hope it will. I've been seeking out more agents already, so here's to another round of trying.

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  2. Good luck with the querying. Hope it turns out to be more than nibbles.
    Hang on to that story that still doesn't work. One day, it will.
    Now, plan on knocking 2016 out of the park!

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    1. Thank you. And I'm already getting ideas for how to rework the story again - turns out, it might have not been weird enough. How that's possible, I don't know, but...

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  3. It sounds like a very productive year (in spite of spending part of it unemployed). An awesome job is worth waiting for! It is great that you are getting responses from your queries. It's a great way to start the new year!

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    1. It was a very good year on many levels, yes. ^_^ And yes, I'm very happy to be getting actual responses. Waiting to hear back from requests is a lot better than waiting to hear back from queries.

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  4. Hey Mason, glad 2015 was such a great year for you! And getting responses from agents is an AMAZING feeling... I'd assume. Keep doing what you're doing and 2016 is sure to be another great year :)

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    1. Hope so. ^_^ And you keep at it too! It'll all work eventually, I swear... even if it never happens as quickly as we want it to.

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  5. I know exactly what you mean when you say 2015 was better than 2014. I was in the same boat.

    Keep that magical idea around. One day, something will click into place that makes it work. (It happens to me too. :-))

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    1. It's already happening - no idea if this round of re-plotting will work, but it's something. ^_^

      And good to know your 2015 was better too. 2016 is already off to a decent start.

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  6. God bless u with peace and health
    Love,
    Shilpa

    http://shilpachandrasekheran.blogspot.in/?m=1

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