Taking Control!

Erm... Sort of.



It's funny how EVERYTHING is going along fine or EVERYTHING stinks, innit? [excuse me—I may borrow a little Taff here and there, as my friend Tara seems to be radiating...]   I mean for a while it's all hunky dory, then suddenly the will power is SHOT and you aren't writing, you aren't eating right, you aren't organized... sorry if I'm projecting here, but to me it seems like life is either relatively IN control, or TOTALLY out of control.



I blogged earlier this week about the 'funk'... a general malaise that was affecting my writing and my mood... well I think it ALSO was affecting the EATING, though last Saturday I pulled THOSE reins in (a full four days before pulling in the writing reins)... and you know what?



THE TART IS IN CONTROL AGAIN!



This week I remembered some things about doing what I need to do. The first is that, corporate giant or not, Nike has something with Just Do It. Just write. Just exercise. Just eat write. Just SKIP the whiny baby feel sorry for myself snacking... Just DO IT.



And it worked.



The writing pulled me out of the funk, and the eating right edged me off the plateau... no not a REAL plateau, because I was there because of not doing what I needed to, but I'd been there for pretty much six weeks. THIS WEEK, my highest weight was my weigh in last week. Before this, I had dropped below that, but only for a day at a time. Now it's solid. Weigh in this morning was only down half a pound, but DOWN, and this is the highest since last Saturday, so I think it is a fluky UP instead of a 'didn't really lose'--if you know what I mean.





Logline Contest



And so... as I stumbled around yesterday, I ran across this logline contest for a novel at the Time Guardian Blog...



Nathan Bransford, Quinetessential Boy Toy of the Agent world... okay, so he is probably also a utility model, but he's so darned CUTE... has suggested ALL OF US need to have three hooks in the form of ONE SENTENCE, ONE PARAGRAPH and TWO PARAGRAPH versions, so if we ever have an agent's undivided attention (say in the elevator), we are ready to pitch. Bryan (blog author and contest head) suggests the one sentence is ALSO what you want for when people ask about your BOOK—MOST are only asking to be polite, but it is STILL a chance to reel them in--if you're quick about it. So in one sentence, how would you describe your book? It's a handy exercise, so I thought I'd play.



I should probably give credit where due here, too. I ran across Bryan through Roland, who also has a GREAT blog... for all that full disclosure stuff... but anyway... I thought I'd give a shot at my sentence (we are allowed up to five because then we can get feedback on what works and doesn't).



So... if I might ask you to check out MY options and the other entrant options, and give some OPINIONS (I KNOW you have tons of THOSE)... Now these are off the cuff—not polished or worked on... just me trying to think of the different ways I start off describing my book... but feedback HELPS! You know how hard it is for me to get to the point!





1)Legacy begins with a young boy witnessing his father's murder and a young girl escaping her mother's drug dealer, and goes on to show what happens when children are left holding the explosive pieces of their parents' legacies.


2)It's about three families connected through a circle of thieves who are stealing art from Romania and selling it on the black market in the U.S.


3)It's about four kids: a runaway who is escaping an addicted mom and a trio whose mother was abducted and father murdered; they realize their families have always been entangled as they help each other stay safe.


4)Legacy is about what happens to children when they are left holding the explosive pieces of their parents' lives.


5)Legacy is about art thieves, runaways, drug addiction, and abduction, but mostly it is about what happens to children when they are left holding the explosive pieces of their parents' lives.


So there we have them... off the cuff a little, but my starting place, so worth the exercise, I think...





And THIS JUST IN



I've got a list of NINE (in addition to the Burrow who will be about that) wanting to participate in BuNoWriMo in June... let me know if you're in so I can makes sure you get all the info you need to join us! Writing a BOOK in June! WAHOO! (then you have all summer to polish for the September Query rush, because I hear MANY agents are just plain unavailable in July and August anyway, yeah? So what better timing?!