WORK IN PROGRESS by LYNNE BENTON

 It’s that time of the month again! No, not that time of the month, I mean the time when I have to come up with something wise and witty about writing for my monthly Blog for Abba. And once again the muse has deserted me.

Possibly because I’ve been so busy writing! Or in my case, rewriting.

Earlier this year I finished my current Work In Progress, sent it to a few trusted writer friends for their opinions/suggestions, took those on board and,  if I was happy with them, amended the manuscript accordingly. Then, when I was satisfied that it was as good as I could get it, I sent it out to a selection of suitable agents. (I am currently unagented since my last agent gave up her agency, so I have decided it’s time I found another.)

Three responses were encouraging – they really liked it but were “not quite sufficiently passionate about it” to take it on. The others rejected it by default (ie “if you haven’t heard from us within 4/6/8 weeks, we don’t want it”). So I had another look at the manuscript, took some more advice, and eventually decided I had two options: I could either

1. leave it as it was and send it out to more agents in its original state (given that three had really liked it, even if they didn’t like it enough to take it on) OR

2. I could “beef up” the opening three chapters before sending it out again – given that most agents only want to see the first three chapters before deciding if they want to see the rest.

After much dithering I decided to go for option 2, which felt more pro-active. So I had another look at the first three chapters and realised it was maybe a bit slow to start. So that was one thing I could do right away: I could go in with a bang!

This is what so many books do, and usually it works well in putting the reader slap in the middle of the action right away and makes them want to read on.

Except that my book isn’t a full-on action-adventure sort of book – although there’s plenty of tension and drama throughout the book, it’s rather more quiet in style, especially at the beginning. So I thought again.

Then I came up with another idea, which involved adding another aspect and then having to change other elements of the book, but I felt this would improve it. So I rewrote the first three chapters, using this idea. And I think it will work.

Only it definitely means rewriting the rest of the book too. Which I don’t mind – I really like the new idea, and I think the book will be better for it. Only now all the chapters, which were originally roughly the same length, are out of sinc, with one new chapter ending half way through the next one. So in order to get them right, and also end each one on something of a cliffhanger, I have to do a bit of reorganising.

Which again, I don’t mind – but it does take a long time, and I do want to get the book out there again sooner rather than later.

And I know that before I send it out again, I will also have to have another go at the synopsis, always the most difficult part, and make it more tempting to a potential agent!

So that’s why I haven’t come up with a new idea for my monthly Blog.

I hope this will do instead. It may not be wise or witty, but it’s certainly about writing!

 Lynne Benton