Wednesday, April 28, 2010

The Birth of my First Novel ~ Cedar

I woke up one late September morning from a dream that I could not get out of my head, the kind that has no verifiable link to some unconscious event you’re trying to suppress or any bearing on the simple life you’re actually living. So needless to say I was thoroughly confused, and a tad bit irritated, that my entire thought process for the next three days was completely consumed by a fictitious girl struggling to dig her way out of a rural West Virginian mountain town.


I could understand my draw to the setting. Having been trained as a social worker in upstate Vermont I’d seen my fair share of rural mountain towns. What struck me was the clarity which I could hear her voice, see the dirt pummeled into her faded blue jeans, or smell her father’s whisky-laden breathe. It was as if I was sitting there, hovering just out of sight watching her life play out around me.


So, at the advice of a trusted friend, I put what was reeling through my mind down onto paper, literally just closed my eyes and wrote. Six weeks later, Cedar was born – a YA Crossover Novel that drops the reader into a part of America that many refuse to believe even exists.


Once complete, Cedar passed from my hands to those of three  trusted beta readers. They red-penned it, picked apart my inconsistencies, even pointed out the occasional but unforgivable comma splice. Thanks to them and their willingness to sift though pages, sometimes entire chapters of . . . well crap, I emerged with a manuscript that I’m proud of, one that I was not afraid to query, and one that I am thrilled to say is represented my Jessica Sinsheimer of the Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency.


So my fellow scribblers . . . where did the idea for your book stem from?

30 comments:

  1. Hi Trish, welcome to the world of blogging! Great site and excellent first post.

    Hmmm, where did the idea for my book come from? From the demented bowels of my mind. Just kidding - the idea came to me while on a very boring car trip. It was really only the first chapter that I thought of and built around it.

    Good luck with Cedar and congrats on snagging such an amazing agent!
    Lindsay
    www.lindsayncurrie.webs.com

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  2. I agree with Lindsay, this is a great first post, and a wonderful introduction to you and your writing!

    The inspiration for my book came from growing up in a huge family full of women. When I hit my early twenties I realized my family was crazy and completely inescapable, and that I loved them in spite of it all. I think it is a feeling that speaks to all of the people from my generation. Our coming of age moments happen so early now. I think coming to terms with your adulthood with respect to the rest of your family is a new, modern right of passage.

    I know beyond a shadow of a doubt Cedar is going to be fantastic.

    Alecya G

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  3. This looks fantastic Trisha. I'm so excited for you!

    My ideas usually come from memories brought up by something mundane (like my husband digging out a lamppost or my kids playing hide and seek). It's always exciting to get a new idea though. I still can't believe you wrote Cedar in 6 weeks. I think the fastest thing I ever wrote took me 6 months. :)

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  4. Hello, Trisha! I saw the link to your blog on Lindsay's site. What a small world! I knew you had something special in Cedar. I'm glad you found the right agent to represent it.

    On my book, Heaven's Rainbow, the plot kind of formed over time. Pieces built up until it all fit together. Most of my ideas come to me driving to and from work or lying in bed staring at the ceiling. :)

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  5. I found my way over from Natalie's site and I just thought I'd say congrats.

    As for where my ideas come from...I always say the Idea Tree which grows in my backyard. I honestly have no idea where they come from, but I'm grateful for them anyway.

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  6. Congratulations, Trisha, and love your new blog. Came over from Natalie's blog to wish you the best.

    The idea for my book stemmed from a trip I took. I had some items stolen, and I began the what if game and developed an entire story from it.

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  7. Congrats! And lovely to meet you:)
    My stories come from my life, dreams, and sometimes things my friends say.

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  8. Congrats, Trisha! I'm here by way of Natalie's blog -- it's great to meet you.

    The plot for my WIP hinges on a random, computer-generated phone call exactly like the one I received several years ago by a rude telemarketer. The "what-ifs" that followed consumed my thoughts for weeks, but back then I was only journaling, not writing for an audience. That story idea never left me, though, and now I'm 20K words into the first draft!

    Looking forward to reading more from you!

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  9. Congratulations!!! That's so wonderful.

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  10. I linked over from Natalie's blog. Congratulations! Can't wait to hear more about your book. I started one novel based on two characters in a dream. Only one scene in the book has any connection to the dream, but it was the jumping off point. I can still remember how I felt when I awakened and scribbled down the scene.

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  11. I have no idea where my ideas come from. It usually happens while I'm daydreaming. LOL
    I popped over from Natalie's blog. Huge Congrats to you!!!

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  12. Just heard about your agent. Wonderful news!!!

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  13. Huge congrats to you! *throws confetti*

    Nat has mentioned how much she enjoys reading your stories. Can't wait to read about your book deal. :)

    Jessica is absolutely lovely. I wish you all the very best.

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  14. Just stopping by from Natalie's blog to say congratulations! This is a fabulous first blog post. :)

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  15. I popped over from Natalie's blog as well. Congratulations! Such an exciting time :) Good luck with it all!

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  16. Hi Trisha! I came over from Natalie's blog, too.

    My got the idea for my WIP from a trivia question I heard on the radio one morning while I was driving my kids to school.

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  17. I'm another 'refugee' from Natalie's blog stopping by to say congratulations!

    The idea for my first novel came from a tarot reading. The idea for the second book came from my experience working at a museum caught up in a legal tussle over a Nazi plundered painting.

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  18. I've come over from Natalie's blog too. Congrats on getting signed and good luck landing a publishing deal!

    My novels all come from history. Book #2 is in the works now and comes from a snippet in Herodotus. I think writerly inspiration can come from a million and one sources. Or maybe a million and two.

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  19. Trisha, congrats to you. You're book sounds interesting. I hope you find a good home for it. One of my books was inspired by working with kids in an alternative school. They kept getting stuck in the system and they wanted out.

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  20. Welcome to the blogosphere and congrats on your success!! I know this sounds weird, but I woke up one morning last summer with my MC Jane in my head. Like pummeling her fists against my skull, demanding to be born on paper. lol. The rest kinda fell from there.

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  21. I was raised in New England as well and most of my novels are set there.

    My ideas usually begin with a person. Then they grow...and burst into tangled plots.

    Congratulations on your agency news!
    ~ Wendy

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  22. Oh, love these kinds of posts! Popped over from Natalie's blog. Congrats on landing an agent.

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  23. I'm here from Natalie's blog too. congratulations!

    Hey, where are all the men?

    :-)

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  24. Popped over from Natalie's. Congrats!

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  25. Congratulations, and what a great start to the blogging world as well. Many happy returns. I'm fascinated by the way your story poured out of you. That's never happened to me, not quite like that. It's a much more laborious process here, I'm afraid. But, wow, I heartily congratulate you, because...it sounds like a winner. We're all here for you. How exciting! :)

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  26. I love the 50s, the fashion, the music, and the simplicity of it all. The whole story of love gained and lost just unfolded and popped into my head.

    Nice blog : )

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  27. Your book sounds awesome!

    I'm not entirely sure where I got my idea. I remember talking with my colleague about what it would be like if you could pop into other people's heads, and I guess it just evolved...

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  28. Just came over from Natalie Bahm's. Congratulations!! That's such an awesome story, can't wait to see what else happens for you. :)

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  29. That agency has a stellar reputation - congrats to you!!

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