Sweet @ MindSay

Oh, sweet rejection.  How the pain stings.  How the paper cuts leave small but deep wounds that burn when I pour alcohol on them so they don't get infected.  

Ladies and gentlemen, I have received my first rejection notice.

Actually, my first three.  Apparently when agents don’t like you, they act fast.

Observe Exhibit A:


At least this is nice and polite.  I mean, they do wish me the best of luck with my work.  Although they also explain that based on the current market, no publisher would possibly want my book.  So, in other words, they tell me to give up because no one is going to buy my book.  But hey, at least they admit to being afraid to give me this news, which just proves how very intimidating I am.

But here’s my question, if the volume of queries they receive obliges them to respond in a form letter, how were they able to get it out to me so fast?


Oh well, at least I have this one to make me feel better:


These wonderful people don’t even know whom they are rejecting.  I’m pretty sure my name is Matt, not Tony, although I guess I could be wrong.  I’ve only been living with the same name for more than twenty years.

And I love the fact that they just crossed off “author,” not even trying to make it seem like it was a personal letter.  And meanwhile, they rejected me, no relationship is going to be formed, so they didn't need to be personal in the first place.  But if you are going to be personal, don’t cross off “author” so that we see it was a form letter, and don’t replace the crossed off "author" with the wrong name.

Despite that minor (okay, major) screw up, however, these people are very nice about their rejecting.  They claim to have really appreciated the opportunity to review my work, and they assure me that it was definitely read and thoroughly evaluated.  Not thoroughly enough to know what my name is, but whatever, there’s different definitions of thorough.

And finally, they left me with a little optimism.  As opposed to saying, “No agent would want this damn book in a time like this, moron,” as the first agency did, these people say, “This is a subjective business and another agency may feel quite differently.”  Hey, you’re right!  Maybe someone else would be interested.  Thank you for supplying me with some semblance of hope.


And finally, we have this gal:


Wow, wordy enough?  No wonder you’ve had an impossible time trying to keep up with your correspondence, you don’t stop talking…or writing.  Plus, save your troubles for your shrink, girlfriend.  I don't need to know how stressful your job is and how hard of a time you're having trying to keep up with everything.  I can't believe how many submissions you've recently recently as well.  I also can't believe you're making me read through this crap just to get to the backhanded way that you reject me. 

But to be fair, she was really nice about it.  She knew my book wasn’t for her and she didn’t want me to wait around to hear that bad news. She got it out as soon as she could, which was incredibly soon.  So I like this girl, even if she rejected me.  Although she does kind of subliminally reference that she doesn't think my book can sell, which hurts.  But still, I like her.  Good luck, Sheree.  Good luck with all your troubles.




I don’t mean to make light of the situation or sound too bitter.  I expected to get rejected.  I am just showing you these now to increase the drama of this blog, which is becoming more and more like Breaking Bonaduce every week.  Just wait until next week when my wife leaves me [Note to self: Get married and then make your new bride hate her life before next week's post]. 

But besides adding to the real-life drama of this little reality show blog that could, these horribly painful rejection letters are a great segue into a discussion about dialogue.  All three agents had a different way of writing, which is most likely based on their different ways of speaking.

So too should a writer have a unique interpretation of dialogue, which may be based on his or her personality or how that author sees the world.  

Dialogue is often cited as the hardest part of writing a book.  I feel bad for screenwriters, since they’re entire project is dialogue.

But dialogue is so important.  Sure, Charlie Chaplin never had dialogue.  And The New World is sparser with dialogue than a desert with water.  But Charlie Chaplin made silent films, and The New Worlds sucks.  The fact is, dialogue is vital to a good book.  It can really enhance or ruin a story. 

A friend of my parents has had a few books published by a really small company, and everyone who has read them has said the same thing: “The books are really good, but every time someone speaks the story just dies.  It’s so hard to get through the dialogue.”

I think one of the major problems is that people write dialogue too stilted.  In real life, no one says, “We are out of milk,” or “I am going to the store.”  That’s just not how people speak.  Therefore, that's not how dialogue should be written.

Some authors don’t like using conjunctions in their books, but you have to consider them when writing dialogue.  “I am going to the store,” should be “I’m going to the store,” or even, “I’m goin’ to the store.”  You could also try, “I’ll be at the store.”  Either way, write it as someone would speak it.

The key is to speak it aloud.  Have a friend of yours read a scene with you, as if two actors reading lines, and see if the wording works.  When you get to:

”Hey, we are out of milk.”  
“Well then take a trip to the store.”

You will realize that it doesn’t sound right.  Your prose might move along at a quick pace or have an eloquent flow, but as soon as a reader hits dialogue like that, the faucet will shut off and the steady flow will cease.  Stilted dialogue actually makes the reader stop to reread the words in order to absorb the whole thing.  It shouldn't be like that.  It should zip right through.  I'm a big fan of fast, zippy, witty dialogue that just keeps moving, maybe even quickening the pace of the prose instead of slowing it down. 

And hey, I don't want this post to slow down because I rambled on for too long, and I don't want to pull a Sheree, so I'll stop here.  But this topic is too broad to end at this point, especially since I didn’t go into very good detail, so I’ll be back next week to discuss using adverbs in dialogue (i.e. “He said angrily”) as well as coming up with other adjectives for “said,” and how you shouldn’t even need to write “said” in the first place.

Meanwhile, why don’t you tell me some of your favorite bits of dialogue from books, movies, TV shows, or plays?  And there better not be any Danny Bonaduce quoting.    

I met someone here on mindsay who is away for a couple weeks.

 

I MISS HER! lol. She is so kind and sweet, just wanted to share that!!

 

 

Here's a picture of the two of them for now, I must upload the ones from the camera for more :P

Yes I know the picture isn't the best, but I love it :D

Reece Fleming, an 8-year-old boy suffering from leukemia, "married" his school sweetheart, fulfilling his last dream before his death.

He had created a list of ambitions he wanted to achieve before the end of his life, which included taking a ride in a Ferrari, spending a day at a fire station, and having a pirate-themed birthday party. The last thing on his list was saying "I do" to the girl he admired, Elleanor Pursglove.

Reece had proposed to Elleanor several times, and she finally answered yes after learning he only had a few weeks left to live. The plan was to have a vicar present for their vows, however with Reece's condition worsening, the mock ceremony was held at his home. Reece got to wear his favorite shirt, while Elleanor wore a wedding gown.

"You can't really describe in words what it was like. Reece and Elleanor were both very quiet, but there was a lot of feeling in the room," said Reece’s mother, Lorraine.

The young couple exchanged vows, rings, and were even given a marriage certificate. At the end of the ceremony, Reece told his mother, "Mum, I can go now."

After battling the cancer for four years of his life, Reece died the following day.

"Elleanor is missing him a lot. They were both really pleased with the ceremony. It was very special - he just kept smiling at her," said the girl's mother.

This report was contributed by cas 

This is Taz. He is so sweet and no one knows how he got to be so sweet. I like to call him my papoose. Dont ask why. He likes to sleep in my bed when I go to see my parents, and yes he is a bed hog. He loves going on walks, eating people food, and playing with his squeeky elephant. He has a huge head and a fat neck, and a white patch on that fat neck, which I like to call his tuxedo. So formal, I know.. but he is very distinguished. His hobbies include sleeping, barking out the window, and running in circles through the kitchen, living room, and back again. His biggest fears are being alone, riding in the car, and the vacuum cleaner.

PS: Sorry some of these pics are horrible quality. They came from my phone, what more can you expect?