Children of Annwn: A new beginning.

The last couple of weeks have taught me several things, nothing ventured, nothing gained. You only fail, if you give up. And the realization that I started writing because I loved the process of creating characters, and bringing a very visual story to me, to life, and that is the reason more than anything else to keep going. 

True, the last month and half have made me seriously question if I want to carry on. I cannot deny that not getting the acceptance I was craving for, hasn't affected me, it has. 

Although, I have to say that both publishers were very helpful in giving me in-depth critiques on what the story needed. Both publishers gave praise for my writing, descriptions and the characters. Both highlighted certain problematic areas.

1. The world building of Annwn...

2. Stating the goal, motivation and conflict right up front drawing the readers in sooner so that they know straight away what the problems are. Within the first 3 chapters!!! Need to re-write.

3. Clearing the dreams/ visions and the characters "thoughts" versus "speech." An element that both publishers picked up on...

Lot's to do. A mind boggling amount to do, but god willing I will  do it. 

However, lately, I'm really considering going the self-publishing route. I want your thoughts??? Your experiences, Good or Bad.

Mist was rolling off the grassy slopes on the hillside, and the purple and pink slashes in the sky stained the sandstone on the castle that abutted the cliff, a beautiful rose color. Mia stared at the majestic fortress as it stood guard over the sea, a foreboding site should anyone dare to enter Annwn from the water, and she shivered. The milky white sun peeped from behind the curtains of clouds that rolled passed, and she turned towards the sea. The sky was reflected like a mirror on the still water. Her heart beat slowly, and Mia took a deep breath in, capturing all that lay before her, soaking in the very essence and smells of her home Annwn, should it all be forgotten. It was dawn and the start of a new day.

    A new beginning.

    Annwn was a realm on earth, hidden from human eyes by magic. Its exact location was a highly guarded secret, but legend suggests that it lies by the coast in Wales; a land that was steeped in mysteries and folklore. Mia smiled recalling the tales of Arthur, and then sighed as she remembered the effect on the lives of her people. She stared out across the endless glossy water, and her hair danced wildly as the wind picked up speed.

   “Are you ready?” Mia turned at the sound of his voice and gazed at Ryder. She accepted his outstretched hand and smiled. He was her heart, and the reason they both stood on the shores of their home ready to cast everything they had known aside. Her toes curled into the silky grains of white sand like an anchor, but she knew she had to let go and set sail.

   “As ready as I’ll ever be.” A rough, calloused hand smoothed across her cheek and her eyes closed. To test the power of their love, they had agreed with the Wise elders to undergo a challenge as was the custom in their world. What greater challenge than to enter the human world where promises were broken every day and to live a life as a mortal with no knowledge of their magic or life in Annwn. A coldness rose inside Mia and locked inside her throat rendering her speechless. Her visions predicting the end of mankind further underlined the reason for them to venture into the unknown because the two realms were linked by a history, by blood and what was predicted for the humans was eerily repeated in the visions of the future for their enchanted world of Annwn. The roar of the ocean blasted in her ears. The fierce wind whipped around them and Emrys appeared, his face sober. The waves parted and staring out into the distance a land heralded and lights could be seen.

   “It’s not too late to change your mind. We can look at another way to complete your challenge, but once you enter their world, there is no turning back. The spell will be cast from the moment we leave, and I cannot say how old you will be. The magic in this area is unpredictable. You may wake to find that you’re seven or thirteen years old. I will put in place whatever is needed, and lay a trail so that at the designated time having lived a life as a mortal, your memories will return. However, until such a time you will not remember any of this.

   Mia glanced at Ryder and gripped his hand tighter, chewing on her lower lip. Her heart was churning and beating wildly. She gulped a lungful of the scents from the wild flowers nearby, and the saltiness of the ocean. A fragrance, she believed, she would recognize anywhere, because it conjured up the very essence of Ryder, and her home, Annwn. 

   “So we will be more human than guardian?”She let go of Ryder’s hand and grabbed his cotton shirt tugging him closer.

  “Mia, you’ll always be you, but your magic will be suppressed. You need to experience life as a normal human, and overcome the challenges in their world. To take your magic with you and to know who you are would compromise the challenge. If you believe strongly enough in the power of your love for Ryder, you will find each other, and you will overcome the obstacles in your way to true love.”

    A flapping of wings and a wail of ear-piercing squealing filled the skies. Mia clasped her hands over her nose and tears filled her eyes. It was Gerty and Jasper, Mia and Ryder’s pet serpents. The two pale green and leathery scaled creatures landed on the soft sand with a thump, their wings flapped and then settled, but their long, thick tails bashed against the ground. They furiously ducked and nodded their heads sky-wards squealing continuously.

  “They don’t want us to go,” Mia said as she approached the gentle looking creatures who instantly began to make purring sounds and both dropped their heads to nudge against her waiting hand. Mia stroked first one, then the other; her hand massaged their soft scaly head in a soothing circular motion and the creatures batted against her palm in approval.

  “They just want to play Mia. They have no understanding of what we are doing?”   Just at that moment, a buzzing and whirring sound filled the air. Mia couldn't see Ryder as hundreds of swarming colorful fairies the size of butterflies surrounded her. Their voices all merging together to say one thing.

   “Don’t go Mia. Don’t go.” 

I think that for as long as I feel excited to be working on this story then I will continue to re-write, but my next course of action is less clear. Wish me luck. 

Embracing opportunities.

I love this picture. The photograph makes the moon look gigantic, and had me once more thinking of the world of Annwn.

In truth, I haven't been writing of late which is sad, but I'm embracing an opportunity that has come my way and requires some reading and research. It may not be what I was wishing for, but it is inspiring me, simply in another direction. And I'm learning about things which I was completely in the dark about which is good because a writer needs to have knowledge of many subjects.

The reality is after four years I need to make a living and sadly, I'm not as a writer. Not yet anyway. I've been told that my YA story is intriguing and the characters likable, but the world of Annwn needs to be developed. I'm itching to do this, but I'm so torn because of my new commitment. My time to write is less, and therefore I need to manage my day more efficiently to fit everything in.

I'm going to try to spend 2 hours a day writing creatively for myself, and see how that goes.

How long do you spend writing every day? Indeed, do you write every day?

In the end, I owe it to Ryder and Mia to get their story out there whether it's with a publisher or I self-publish, I just want to spend some more time pulling those loose ends together...

A New Day Begins.

This is a beautiful photograph that  I borrowed from a friends FB page, and it really inspired me today. The reason is that for most of this week I have been writing and researching for a project that I may or may not be venturing into.

I cannot give any further details, other than to say that whilst it's exciting, interesting and all a bit mind-boggling, it's not creative writing, and I was getting a tad frustrated, as I do.

Enough said

Anyway, today I decided with a couple of hours spare before I volunteer in the FUN RUN at my youngest school, I would try some world building.

One point that was made by the publisher that I submitted to was to enlarge the world of Annwn. To answer all the questions that one may ask about this magical realm. Bearing that in mind I am going back to my notes and piecing this jigsaw of Annwn together.

Annwn is a magical realm and it is thought to have existed on earth since the planet was created. It was by accident that Annwn became aware of the humans and their world, after a powerful Guardian Locksonor created a portal allowing him entry. The world of Annwn is shrouded by magic, unseen by human eyes. It's exact location a mystery. 

Ever since the portals were created, the Guardians and the Watchers have visited the human world regularly out of curiosity, and the desire to help those in need. However, no realm, not even a magical one is without evil, and as the portal opened, a darkness began to creep inside Annwn. That Darkness also began to seep into the human world in many forms seeking power, riches and destruction. Every encounter between the two worlds since has been with fatal consequences. 

Mist was rolling off the grassy slopes on the hillside, and the purple and pink slashes in the sky stained the sandstone on the castle that abutted the cliff, a beautiful rose color. Mia stared at the majestic fortress as it stood guard over the sea, a foreboding site should anyone dare to enter Annwn from the water, and she shivered. The milky white sun peeped from behind the curtains of clouds that rolled passed, and she turned towards the sea. The sky was reflected like a mirror on the still water. Her heart beat slowly, and Mia took a deep breath in, capturing all that lay before her, soaking in the very essence and smells of her home Annwn, should it all be forgotten. It was dawn and the start of a new day.

    A new beginning.

    Annwn was a realm on earth, hidden from human eyes by magic. Its exact location was a highly guarded secret, but legend suggests that it lies by the coast in Wales; a land that was steeped in mysteries and folklore. Mia smiled recalling the tales of Arthur, and then sighed as she remembered the effect upon the lives of her people. She stared out across the endless glossy water, and her hair danced wildly as the wind picked up speed.

   “Are you ready?” Mia turned at the sound of his voice and gazed at Ryder. She accepted his outstretched hand and smiled. He was her heart, and the reason they both stood on the shores of their home ready to cast everything they had known aside. Her toes curled into the silky grains of white sand like an anchor, but she knew she had to let go and set sail.

   “As ready as I’ll ever be.” Ryder’s rough, calloused hand smoothed across her cheek and Mia closed her eyes. To test the power of their love as was the custom in Annwn, they had agreed with the Wise elders to enter the human world where promises were broken every day and live a mortal life with no knowledge of their magic or their past. Coldness rose inside Mia and locked inside her throat rendering her speechless. Her visions predicting the end of mankind further underlined the reason for them to venture into the unknown because the two realms were linked by a history, by blood, and what was happening to the humans may easily come to pass in Annwn. The roar of the ocean blasted in her ears, the fierce wind whipped around them and Emrys appeared his face sober. The waves parted, and Mia stared into the distance. A land heralded and a million golden lights twinkled.

 

Why rejection isn't so bad!

Today, I'm so happy it's Friday because it means I will get a lie in bed tomorrow until maybe eight o'clock, and I really love waking up naturally, rather than to the shrill sound of the buzzer.

Anyway, the reason for this second post this week is because at the end of last week, I received two simple rejections from agents. Their emails were short and succinct. They both basically stated that the market had changed and that based on the writing material I had supplied, they weren't interested enough in the book to ask for more. Ouch!!

Honestly, receiving a rejection, hurts, there's no way of trying to avoid that, and I knew that I would feel disappointed, BUT it is part of the process.

I also have to say that the waiting to hear back from the agents/publishers is worse than the rejection. Once you receive a yay or nay, at least you can go and do something!

Today, I've eaten my whole bar of Nestle's Aero chocolate, later I intend to get a Starbucks coffee, and then I will spend my birthday money from August. I decided when I started submitting that I needed a plan in place for the moment, I started to receive the news. And I think you need to have one. Obviously,  if the news had been better, I would be doing all of the above, but jumping around with a ridiculous grin on my face.

After a long debate with myself,  I decided that when I received a response, regardless of whether it was good or bad, I would spend the day in the same way, because I will savor each activity, look forward to them, and tomorrow will be another day with endless possibilities. I want to keep the dream alive because I love what I do.

         "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen." Harry S. Truman.

The above quote is true. If you're a writer getting rejections is part of the course, not everyone will love your work, and if you cannot face them without falling apart, then maybe this isn't for you. In writing my blog, and I try to give some thought to what I write, and how it will affect others. I wasn't sure whether to post anything negative about writing, not wishing to put aspiring writers off, but this is my journey and facing and accepting rejection is something, I have to deal with. It's real and many, many esteemed authors have been rejected.

1. Sylvia Plath: There certainly isn’t enough genuine talent for us to take notice.
2. Rudyard Kipling: I’m sorry Mr. Kipling, but you just don’t know how to use the English language.
3. J. G. Ballard: The author of this book is beyond psychiatric help.
4. Emily Dickinson: [Your poems] are quite as remarkable for defects as for beauties and are generally devoid of true poetical qualities.
5. Ernest Hemingway (regarding The Torrents of Spring): It would be extremely rotten taste, to say nothing of being horribly cruel, should we want to publish it.

                     Legendary rejection letter phrases to some of the most famous of writers.

 You either learn from it and get better, carry on regardless or give up. Whilst, I will not pretend there are not dark days for the writer, because there are, I still believe in carrying on and not giving up!!!

And here's why?

Yesterday, I receive my first rejection from a publishing company. Now, I could be all bah, humbug about it, but this time the way it was worded, makes me want to keep trying. The lovely acquisition's editor from this particular publishing firm which shall remain nameless, gave an in-depth analysis of the manuscript. She said enjoyed the characters, their relationships, and the premise of the story.  Happy dance!!!!!  :)   She went on to give me five steps as to how to improve the story and concluded by saying that if I amended it as suggested, she would be more than happy to see it again, should I wish to submit it.    Woot Woot!!!!!   I see that sunshine at the end of the rainbow...

Reading the email, I actually felt some relief because although it's a rejection, I really felt hopeful that one day this story will be published.

Never give up. And most importantly, be true to yourself. Write from your heart, in your own voice, and about what you believe in.

Louise Brown 

Never give up on your dream... because you never know what the Lord can bless you with.

Kelly Rowland

I'm sending out a big wave to my 29 new followers via Feedspot, welcome. Would love to hear from you!!! Although, I'm not sure how to make you visible on my blog yet, I'll work on it.

Also, I need to say thank-you to everyone who reads the blog because the writers world can get lonely, and not everyone wants to hear about the latest goings on inside my stories, but here I am among friends and it's your support that keeps me going.      
 

Off for that coffee, bye for now. xxxx

Ready to give up!

I've read posts about giving up and have thought, never. I will never give up! Today, I'm ready to throw in the towel, and surrender. I feel all the doubters out there, that smirked when I said I'm going to get my story published, have been right all along, and that I should stop kidding myself now. 

Writing for four years has been all consuming, and there have been people who have become totally fed-up with listening to me go on about the story and my writing. I've tried to continue pushing myself to believe that no matter what, I will finish what I started and then pursue publication.

         However, I never imagined how depressing I would find this process of submitting and waiting!!!!
 
        I have been paralyzed waiting for news. I felt sick pressing the send button to query agents/publishers and since have been glued to the computer waiting for that elusive e-mail.

        I cannot live like this!
     
        I've sent my husband out for chocolate, and wine. I have tried focusing on another story, but I'm now obsessed with the fact I'm no good. That the story is no good, and I have no idea how to deal with this?
At the end of the day it makes me question if I really can write at all?

      Yesterday, I spent the day cleaning, food shopping, and catching up with paper-work. I just needed to get away from writing. Today, again, I'm going out to meet up with friends, and I doubt I will get any writing done.

      I feel lost, sad, tearful. I feel depressed, exhausted, and question whether any of this is worth it!


     Any advice on how to deal with playing the waiting game, and facing rejection, appreciated.

P.S
  I have to point out, that  I know this is part of the process of writing and seeking publication. I wasn't prepared for this waiting and nail biting stage. Today, I am re-invigorated and have a strategy or rather several. I was awake early and started exercising, which really helps those endorphin's. I'm re-working my biography, reading over my new story and plotting. Sharing this post has helped because I've had support from my writer friends and all have offered good advice. Just knowing that they are there has helped. I'm blessed. Thank you all. Not giving up----yet!!!! xxx