Tip of the day: Register to vote. Please.
So the first young adult novel I wrote, I just started writing. No idea of where it was going. No serious thought given to the plot. Yep. I just started writing. I decided at some point the girl would be in a band. And her mom was kind-of a loser dating an even bigger loser.
But what was really strange is that when I started writing, there were all these cats. Why? I have no freaking clue. Her mom worked at a Humane Society and couldn't stand to see the cats put down, so she'd bring them home. Would the cats play an important role later one? Perhaps there was some kind of symbolism involved, or they were a metaphor for something? Uh, no. Nothing. Just figured I hadn't seen any stories about a girl with a lot of cats, so hey, it's something different!
I wrote about eight chapters and then came to my senses as I figured out that a story with no plot and 23 cats probably wasn't going to be selling anytime soon.
Here's a little snippet of the brilliant masterpiece, THE GIRL WITH 23 CATS:
“What am I supposed to do, leave them there to die? They deserve to be loved, Cassie. I know what it feels like to be unwanted and it believe me, it hurts. I can’t hurt these poor precious cats like that, I just can’t. They have every right to live a happy, love-filled life. And if you don’t think so, then you take them out and shoot them. Yeah, take them out back and put a bullet into their sweet little heads if you think I should have left them there to die. All those people I work with at the Humane Society, and I’m the only one who gives a crap. I don’t care if we have 50 cats, Cassie, I will keep bringing them home and loving them as long as there is breath in me.”
Have you learned anything this week? I hope so. I hope you've learned that with every word we write, we improve. And what we think is great today may not seem so great tomorrow. And if it really sucks? Well, no worries. It'll make great blog material, which makes it worth something after all, right?
~Lisa, Miss Pinch Me I'm Pubbed
I think everyone sees there own writing harsher. That's what I've taken away from this week. But I agree with everything we write we improve.
ReplyDeleteBut I think the cat idea could have worked, since it does feel like her mother saving all these cats could make the MC feel left out or unloved, and I think that could have led to alot of plot places.
LOL! OK, I love the title. I could also see your scene maybe coming together with my soap opera novel!
ReplyDeleteOk, when I went to meet dh's aunt for the first time they had like 50 cats. It was INSANE. I never saw anything like that before-- they were everywhere.
ReplyDeleteAmen, Lisa! Just looking at my movement from one ms to another over the last 5 years, I'm a completely different writer!
ReplyDeletehmm....there may be hope for a book about a girl with 23 cats, yet!