No, I'm not talking about the Mayan apocalypse. I'm talking about the end of the book I'm currently writing. I cannot wait to finish it. This book has not been a "gimme" for me, it's been a real labor of love at times.A gimme book, as most writers will tell you, is one of those rare novels that just pours out of you, every character nuance and plot decision coming as seamless as silk. Some writers have never had one of those, some have them periodically, but most writers have had at least one. Ask a writer what their gimme book was and their face will light up and their eyes sparkle with a faraway remembrance. They'll nod and smile and start telling you about it, how it issued forth in six weeks and had no revisions or some such fantastical thing.
I've had one. It's called The Perfect Dish and I wrote the first 60 pages in about five days. It really did spill out of me, so fast my fingers could barely keep up. It was a risky book, featuring an older woman/younger man scenario long before the word cougar had really entered the vernacular. (He's a hot young chef with a recently widowed sister, she's a grief counselor who's meteoric career is suddenly spiraling downward due to her own unresolved issues. Also, he's got a magic cookbook and isn't afraid to use it.)
The Perfect Dish opened doors for me. It proved to people that I could write, that I was growing as a writer and that I was a talent worth noticing. That book got me my agent. It eventually sold, but the publisher closed, leaving the book homeless again. (I've decided to put it out there myself via the Kindle route, but that's a story for another post.) Still, The Perfect Dish was a gimme book that made a difference in my writing path.
Have you had your gimme book yet? What was it? What happened to it? Are you writing it now?
Yay on almost finishing the book!
ReplyDeleteI actually think I'm writing my gimme book right now. Although, I always think that for the first 100 pages of everything I write. Then it gets hard;)
Sometimes I have a Gimmie Scene. Usually one per book that sparks the idea.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're nearly there!
No gimme book. I wouldn't say I was one of those natural writers. I am a natural thinker of stories though - they scramble around in my head pounding to come out but nope I don't write them down just plot them in the mind until the next one chimes in.
ReplyDeleteI have been contemplating for a couple of years about participating in NaNoWriMo -maybe this year will be the year.
The Perfect Dish sounds delicious. I just finished Heart of Fire - great book.
I wish I were writing it now! My current WIP is not one of those books.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finishing your book. Can't wait to read your gimme. :)
With hindsight, my book that got me an agent was also a slight gimme... Although it you'd asked me during the process, I might not have agreed... For me, they always seem easier after. :)
I think NaNo is awesome, but alas I'm going to be doing revisions this November, I think. There's something about that healthy competition and accountability that keeps my momentum going.
My gimme book is coming out from Samhain in summer of 2011. My Urban Fantasy Incarnate just forced itself out of me during NaNo 2009. I wrote 80k in 30 days. I love it, and it was a totally different path for me. It's POV is in first person, it's Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance when I assumed I'd be a historical writer. I can't wait until it releases. I'm still in love with it, even though the edits are killing me at the moment! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI had a book that almost seemed to write itself. It's speculative fiction, and I still really love it. Too bad, it's gathering dust on my hard drive after making the rounds and being rejected. I thought the book I'm currently shopping was a gimme when I wrote the first draft, but after rewriting it a couple times, I'm gonna have to go with NOT. ;o)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on nearing the finish line on your labor of love, Kristen.
I cannot work on one book at a time. I have a constant round robin happening because none of my stories are gimme-ish.
ReplyDeleteFalling Under poured out...until the last 1/3. Then it was a vicious struggle. The only book that didn't stymie me was Butterface, and that's likely because it is only 9k or so, LOL.