An update on my agent hunt

I sent out 8 agent query letters on January 9th. I received on rejection and submitted to another agent, who in turn, rejected me as well. Both of these rejections were based just on the query letter. So I'm remaining positive for the other 7 query letters as they all include chapter samples. I can console myself in that the two rejections had nothing to do with my actual writing.

I'm resisting the temptation to spend any time tweaking the query letter. I compare my novel, Spirit Quest, to Jim Butcher's Dresden Files and Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles. They're both urban fantasy series that are very similar, although I feel that my story and hopefully series will be a bit more rural fantasy.

At first I had compared my story to F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack as my protagonist would be going around and helping people with his spirit magic. Although we both wrote our stories in the 3rd person point-of-view, Spirit Quest, is also a kind of coming of age novel. That 3rd person point-of-view was important, especially with my strong supporting cast. Tara could easily be the story's co-protagonist, but I'm saving that for the sequel.

Butcher's Story Skeletons

From Jim Butcher's LiveJournal page:

"The story skeleton is a description of the main plot of your book, broken down into its simplest elements: *WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS*, *YOUR PROTAGONIST* *PURSUES A GOAL*. But will he succeed when *ANTAGONIST PROVIDES OPPOSITION*?"

For example, the story skeleton for his first novel, Storm Front, was:

"When a series of grisly supernatural murders tears through Chicago, wizard Harry Dresden sets out to find the killer. But will he succeed when he finds himself pitted against a dark wizard, a Warden of the White Council, a vicious gang war, and the Chicago Police Department?"

I've found this exercise useful when trying to sort out my plot ideas. Refining all the ideas swirling around in your head can be daunting, but using a model like this can help bring structure to it all. I feel that walking through this exercise helps not only focus your efforts, but rein in the scope of your story.

Two weeks before I leave for the Borderlands Bootcamp

Two weeks from today, I'll be on my way to Towson Maryland to attend the Borderlands Bootcamp. I'm a bit anxiously, especially as the date seems to be creeping up on me. I'm almost done my first pass at all 17 of the other attendees' stories. Ideally, I'd like to do two passes. Although, I've marked up some of them quite well. :)

In the wee hours of the morning, I finished G.R.R. Martin's Fevre Dream and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I devoured his fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire, and was happy to try another one of his books, even though it was a vampire tale. However, this story was first printed in 1983, way ahead of the vampire craze. In fact, I'd have to say he was a pioneer in the vampire genre with his unique take on the bloodsuckers. In Fevre Dream he captured the atmosphere of the deep south and the power of the Mississippi and the steam boats that rode its fickle surface.

As for my writing, I'm hoping to spend some time this weekend and really get refocused on my Black Knight project. I've been studying various urban fantasy stories and trying to breakdown their plot points. Especially series novels, like Kevin Hearne's the Iron Druid Chronicles or Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files. I'd like to see my protagonist, Trevor Galloway, in a series of novels that chronicle his adventures as an urban shaman.