Mills & Boon Contest- It's going. It's an interesting experience. So far my comments have all been about my use of Scottish dialect. All think it could be toned down. It's funny to me because when I write the rough draft, I write A LOT more dialect in it. I write it the way I hear it. Then, as I go through revision rounds, I take more and more out. I want it in there for flavor, but I'm thinking I still need to take more out. I did have one person comment that she would've liked it to start at another place. This one commenter (who didn't comment on mine) was just MEAN. But most people are pretty constructive in their criticisms. If you haven't checked out the entries yet, you should! The first round goes through 9/22. Then the judges will whittle down the entries to just 10.
Partner Revisions- I can FINALLY see the light at the end of the tunnel. Granted, that light is a tiny speck far in the distance, but it's there! I'm loving the changes I'm making. I expect to send it to my BRILLIANT CP Cat (who recently sold to Desire) next Tuesday. My goal is to send it to the editor on 9/20. Wish me luck!
Work- I'm waiting for the school district to put me in the sub system (5-7 work days) so I should be able to start subbing next week.
2 comments:
I skim-read the start of your entry, and I did notice "aye" and "lassie". Thing is, if readers know an American is trying to write Scottish characters, they'll assume you're writing stereotypes instead of taking inspiration from the Scottish people you've met.
Which does bring up the question: why ARE you writing about Scottish characters? When did you live there, and for how long?
Which is sad, Tez, because my characters aren't stereotypes. I LOVE the British accents and I love to "hear" them as I'm writing. This contest has taught me I must cut out even more of my Scottish/English dialect in the story! Actually, I think if the manuscript was complete and ready for submission there would already be fewer British-isms, but since I only have about 50 pages of it done, I'm still that stage of writing it as I hear it.
LOL about my Scottish obsession! I have never lived in Scotland, Tez. I WANT to, but so far I've only visited several times. My mother grew up in northern England, the very city my heroine is from. My grandparents' families are from Ireland and Scotland. My Mom & grandparents came to the US when my Mom was 16. I have a lot of family still in England and I love soaking up all the culture of Great Britain. I write about Scottish characters because I love everything about the country and its people. I write Scottish contemporaries because I could never write historical stories and because I want to read Scottish contemps, don't find many and I thought maybe other people would be interested in Scottish contemps as well.
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