Some (more) Tips On Finishing That Manuscript

LB Gregg again. Day III. Or as it's known in some parts: Shameless self-promotion cubed.

A quick reminder that what follows is not a top ten list, although now that I've spent yet another night slavishly whacking this fucker together, it still looks like a top ten list. That's okay. Go with it.

This post is the second in a two part series I have dubbed~

The Dos and Don'ts of Writing (and finishing) Your First Draft

... in Three Part Harmony...

with a Rainbow of Colors

...and Personalities.

(i.e. another Lisabea Top 10 9 List)

As you may recall, I invited my pal Josh Lanyon and his pal (now our pal, too) Harper Fox to discuss everyone's favorite topic--sex. I mean writing.

Why are we not discussing sex?

Ahem. Writing. More specifically, we're talking about finishing the first draft. Yada yada. On with the show.

LB Gregg's RED ink because she's writing this in blood. Muahahahaha.
Josh Lanyon seems a little BLUE.
Harper Fox is our GREEN M&M today. Nom nom. Nom. She should be Red cuz of the hair. I should be green cuz of my eyes.

I should have planned this better.

Here we go!

#5 Do keep your thesaurus beside you at all times;

Don't stop to use it.

You try finding a fun picture for 'thesaurus'.

LB: baking, blazing, blistering, boiling, broiling, burning, muy caliente, febrile, fevered, feverish, feverous, fiery, flaming,heated, humid, igneous, incandescent, like anoven, nom nom, on fire, ovenlike, parching, piping, recalescent, red*, roasting, scalding, scorching, searing, sizzling, smoking, steaming,

#6 Do shamelessly structure everything around your favourite juicy bits and sex scenes. If the edifice collapses, let it go down with a squelch.

LB: I like that. I'm printing it and putting it on my bulletin board. All love scenes should squelch.

Harper: (fans herself / squelches delicately) I made it to your bulletin board?!

LB: You complete me, Harper.

Josh: I'm thinking maybe I should leave you two alone for a bit. :-D I'll go revise my manuscript some more.

Harper: It's okay, you can come back. I'm weary now and calming down. Hormonal surges only available in business hours at my time of life, I'm afraid. But it was fun, Lisabea...

#6 (b)Don't be afraid to let go of a plot-line that's not panning out. Tcha, six hours of my life I can't get back!

Josh: That's a hard one, but it's painfully true. Which is where keeping an elephant's graveyard file can help. You're not ripping it out, you're...saving it for later.

Harper: I have lots of files like that. Ahhh, d'you remember "Flynn's POV bin"? That's a rich source. Oh, here's another "don't"...

#7 don't use the same dead elephant twice.

Even by accident. Sheesh, that was a close call.

LB: We all have characters named Finn? I move to ban the name Finn from further m/m novels. All in favor?

Josh:Flynn, you wacko. Have you been hitting the spiked lapsang souchong again? But I agree in principle. No more Flynns or Finns. Unless we do sequels of the originals. Is it just me or are there flashfire fads in m/m character names?

LB: Do you have a Finch? I'm worried. Suddenly.

Josh: Seriously, though, those old files are very useful. Stories that I dug out of my "deleted" files...Cards on the Table, The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks, and I Spy Something Bloody. Keep it all. You never know when something is going to prove useful.

LB: Without the now deceased Mr. Riley file--oh shame and woe-- In and Out wouldn't exist. I delete much of the day to day stuff--they're all just words-- but the good stuff? I squirrel those away.

Harper:Flynn, Finn, Shminn. I can't even remember. All I know is, he had a POV and it needed to go. (Not true. I endlessly adore him.) Yes, flashfires, definitely. The author in the very next review down from minehad a Matt and Aaron, too. We both turned up wearing the same frock. I'm sure nobody noticed.

#8 Do warn your loved ones. It's kind of like R&D PMS.

Don't take a huff because a Loved One says s/he doesn't like a character's name. "Name" is different to "idea", "concept" and "whole thing".

(Recent bitter experience, anyone?)

Josh: There is power in names. Ask any fantasy writer. It's very hurtful when one's dearest and nearest snicker at a protagonist's name. What is so darned funny about Colin Bliss? I ask you!

LB: I guess this isn't a good time to mention Mark Hardewick? NOT snickering.

Harper: I swear down to you, and will go find it if you insist, that I have a Star Trek novel in my - er - collection (that I'm looking after for a friend) where the aliens are called Alt and Macro. Swear down.

LB: G calls Caesar Romano --Salad with Cheese.

Josh: Now that's romance. Actually, that blend of comedy and sexy isromantic.

On that note: #9 Do ignore the input of your SO; Don't ignore the input of your CP.

Josh: But pretend that you value the input of your SO just as much as you value the input of your CP.

Harper: Don't pretend you know what a CP is when you don't. I thought I'd try and wing it but all I can think of is "civilian partner". (gasps) Is that it?! Do you folks have, like, backup SOs for when you're off-duty?!

LB: CP is the person who, traditionally, uses a red pen ( pre-editor ) to poke you right in the manuscript. In this case, we'll pretend that some critique specialists use blue ink.

Josh: Critique Partner. We only hurt the ones we love.

Harper: Ah! Ah-ha-ha-ha. I'm relieved, undeceived, and just that touch disappointed.

~~CONTEST~~

There are 9 Dos and Don'ts (well 8--one is just a Don't)--you'll have to also refer to the conversation from yesterday. All you need to do is guess who came up with which pair (numbered below). Some of these are pretty easy -okay all of them should be easy. We have distinct voices.

Here they are:

1. Do finish & Don't whine.
2. Do save everything. And at the very least email yourself a copy of the day's work.Don't come home late and drunk from a party and start working on your rough draft.
3. Do fall in love with your leads, even the b*stards, as soon as you possibly can. Passion lubricates graft. Don't throw discarded ideas anywhere you wouldn't want to reach into and get them back. The bin is okay before discarded Chinese food. Not after.
4. When you're stuck, DO skip to the part where you know what happens next. Don't fool around on the internet with your friends. Or at least--know when to stop.
5. Do keep your thesaurus beside you at all times; Don't stop to use it.
6. Do shamelessly structure everything around your favourite juicy bits and sex scenes. If the edifice collapses, let it go down with a squelch. Don't be afraid to let go of a plot-line that's not panning out. Tcha, six hours of my life I can't get back!
7. Don't use the same dead elephant twice. Even by accident. Sheesh, that was a close call.
8. Do warn your loved ones. It's kind of like R&D PMS. Don't take a huff because a Loved One says s/he doesn't like a character's name. "Name" is different to "idea", "concept" and "whole thing".
9. Do ignore the input of your SO; Don't ignore the input of your CP.

I'll choose three winners. What's up for grabs? The upcoming Lanyon, A Vintage Affair; the upcoming Fox, Life After Joe; and a signed copy of Smart Ass 2: Pressure Point (aka Happy Ending in PRINT) from yours truly, LB Gregg.

I'll announce the winner on Wednesday, June 23rd.

LB