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Welcome to this week's Novel Support Group (NSG). Anyone can join. If you're new, tell us a bit about who you are and what project you are working on. Feel free to update the NSG Work in Progress thread with your current projects. Although we can report on any number of things, here is a list of suggestions (suggestions welcomed).

What were your goals last week and did you accomplish them?
Describe what you worked on.
Set goals for next week.
Did you learn something during this week?
Here is a list of things that you can do each week as we work on our novels (suggestions welcomed).

Writing on a novel
Characterization
World Building
Relevant research
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As for me:

Last Week's Goals:

On the Shelf:
THE SHAMAN'S CURSE
THE IGNORED PROPHECY
BLOOD WILL TELL

DREAMER'S ROSE: Keep working on the revisions.
Finished.

MAGE STORM: Send three more queries out.
Only two.

SEVEN STARS: Try to get another two chapters done.
Way past. I've done eleven more chapters.

OTHER:
Update my blog twice a week.

Next Week's Goals:

On the Shelf:
THE SHAMAN'S CURSE
THE IGNORED PROPHECY
BLOOD WILL TELL

BLOOD WILL TELL is getting four readers this month. Then we'll see.
I'm starting to jot down ideas of how the other two might be changed.

DREAMER'S ROSE:
Let it rest. It's going to need at least one more pass (with fresh eyes) before it's ready for readers.

MAGE STORM:
Send three more queries out.

SEVEN STARS:
Keep up the momentum. I'm on Chapter 13. Let's see if I can make it to twenty.

OTHER:
Update my blog twice a week.

What I may need to do is print the whole thing and index card my plot. What a pain. But I need to get unstuck.

I did realize recently that part of the problem is the stakes aren't increasing. There's no up to this roller coaster.

So, I may need an entirely new plot element to scare the bejesus out of my characters with.

Sigh.

I haven't yet been able to hit my three pages of new work on "Evangeline", but the juices are flowing.

And I can't seem to get going on query letters. Time is an issue, but I think really I'm intimidated by boiling down my work to a synopsis and a blurb. The synopsis 3-5 pages, won't be too difficult (I imagine), but the blurb?!?

My first problem is what to call the genre when seeking an agent. I would describe it as perhaps modern fantasy...but I'm really kind of lost. See, civilization is pretty much destroyed by a worldwide cataclysm that isolates communities. But that's more of a backdrop for the characters personal evolution as they go about this quest, directed by a messenger claiming to be sent from God. God plays a major role (through the messenger), so in my case, one might call it Religious Fantasy because of themes, but those are really backdrops. But its about the story of people and their experiences and how they change.

So I'm leaning towards describing it as Apocolyptic Fantasy with elements of Messianic Judaism, or something like that. I don't want to inaccurately downplay the faith elements because an agent or reader might feel 'tricked.' But I don't want to play it up either lest it be thought of as "Christian Fiction". Not that it wouldn't be read there (though they too might feel tricked because it doesn't fit 'nicely' there), but I really just want it to be judged on the story not prejudged on the elements.

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And I can't seem to get going on query letters. Time is an issue, but I think really I'm intimidated by boiling down my work to a synopsis and a blurb. The synopsis 3-5 pages, won't be too difficult (I imagine), but the blurb?!?

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Sorry to be a wet blanket but, guess again. The synopsis is every bit as hard as the query. This may help. You'll have to work your way back to the first post on the subject.

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My first problem is what to call the genre when seeking an agent. . . See, civilization is pretty much destroyed by a worldwide cataclysm that isolates communities. . .

So I'm leaning towards describing it as Apocolyptic Fantasy with elements of Messianic Judaism, or something like that.

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From what I've read, agents tend not to like that kind of description. They'd rather you picked just one subgenre. Sounds like yours might be dystopian fantasy. My best advice on that is to a) read other works in the genre you think it fits and b) to get a few readers and then pick their brains about what subgenre it fits.

I think it depends on who the person is if synopses are easy or not.

In my case they are hard. I recall having to do some in elementary school and hating them. It isn't any easier doing them for my own works. But at the same time I think there would be people who find them easy to do and even fun.

enigmaticuser

Did you place the first 13 lines on the novel forum a while back?

How much fantasy is in it? Terry Brooks' Shannare(?) series is Apocolyptic Fantasy but I think they call it just fantasy. Seems like there is another Apocolyptic Fantasy out there but I can't recall it at the moment.

Not only does Meredith sounds like she knows what she is talking about it would seem like the shorter description would be better. And I think it would depend on how much of the religious element is in it if you needed to include that at all. Much of Urban Fantasy have religious elements but they are not included in the description.

I didn't get much writing done the last week since I was taking an extended weekend off. Then, the weekend was filled with 12 hour days as I attended Life, the Universe, and Everything. I left early each day and did not get home until very late. This was a great LTUE.

My wife attended with me on Friday and Saturday because she wants to start working closely with my writing. She wants to help edit my books so she attended to get a feel for the business. After the long weekend, she is more eager to help.

We set some goals for the both of us that we hope will help push my writing forward.

I got more done on my New Mage novel even though not as much as I hoped. NA is stuck in an alley half drugged and with a stomach full of ground up Witch's Hazel. She is attempting to run and/or hide from the rapist. Thought about placing her under a trash bin but I want her to be found. I had her back into a trash bin instead of a wall...she didn't make any noise though...and it would seem likely she would think of hiding under it...than again drugged as she is, maybe not. But I got her into the alley by having another Mage mentally call her. Just someone who is low on the power level the rapist was able to talk into sending the call.

Well into chapter revising chapter three or Bright Lights. Could have done more today but had to run errands my wife usually does since she is on an antibiotic and had to use my 20% off coupon at B&N plus a couple of other things. I forget if I said this last week but it now looks like I will have around 90,000 words in this novel when I get done revising.