pandora/ipod: "stockholm syndrome" by muse
I spent the weekend doing my copy edits for TEN which is now officially packed up and shipped back to my editor. Next step? ARCs!!!!!
It was the first time I've read the manuscript since I turned it in at the beginning of October, and it was kind of a strange experience. I think writing the damn thing in ten weeks created a kind of Stockholm Syndrome in me: I simultaneously love and hate this book.
What I Love - people, it's creepy. Ten teens trapped on a remote island with a serial killer? Yeah. So much potential for tension and suspense, and there are moments in the book where I feel like I really nailed it to the wall.
I also love some of the characters I created. N, the douchey snowboarder; K, the bitchy punk; and especially M, the bipolar best friend of the main character. I was worried that they wouldn't feel alive to me, because I had to write so fast, but I'm finally feeling comfortable with all ten (yes, ten!) main characters, and happy with the way they all turned out.
What I Don't Love - You know how writers always say that when you read back over a manuscript, you can't tell what parts you wrote on a "good" writing day and what you wrote on a "bad" writing day? Yeah, that's bullshit. At least for me. This is where the Stockholm Syndrome comes in. While reading different passages, I remembered certain stresses, uncertainties, massive insecurities that I was feeling when I wrote them. ACK! FLASHBACK! I'm just praying the stress of writing didn't bleed into the manuscript at times, or at least that I'm the only one who notices... ;)
So there it is. TEN. Contemporary horror throwback to Christopher Pike and Lois Duncan, with a slight homage to my hero Agatha Christie. Fall 2012, people.
Look for a cover reveal early in the new year!
Awesome. Can't wait to read it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the process. I'll be expecting my arc for review on Good Reads, Amazon and my blog poste-haste. LOL
ReplyDeleteThe book alone sounds amazing! Can't wait to see what kind of cover they create for this epic novel :D
ReplyDeleteI assure you, you're the only one who sees it. It's awesome. Can't wait to have a shiny copy on my shelf next to Possess.
ReplyDeleteSO excited!!!!!
ReplyDeleteoooh! yay! sounds great! and i'm sure that your editor and agent and all those people who lay eyes on it along its way to becoming a final product wouldn't let you put something out there that wasn't great. but it's interesting to hear how it affected your nerves like that. i wonder if you read it again in a couple of years if the connection to what you were going through at the time would still be as strong. very interesting!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you rocked it, but I know what you mean. I can definitely tell the good days from the bad when rereading my work during edits. Congrats on finishing copyedits! That's huge. :)
ReplyDeleteawesome site! Your pretty!
ReplyDeleteOh I'm so excited!!! <3
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