Monday, September 10, 2012

Entry #1

Name: Anya Hauenstein
Book Title: Blame it on Meryl Streep
Genre: Women's fiction

Tagline: Sometimes you have to lose yourself in a fantasy to fix your reality. 

First 250 words:

I’m Laura M. Sanders.
I’m twenty-eight.
I’m a TV producer in Los Angeles.
I've travelled the world.
I have a cat named Sartre.
I drive a Horizon Blue Mini Convertible.
I own 108 pair of shoes. 
I’m a virgin. 

The worst part about my pathetic, sex- and relationshipless life is the constant pretending. Pretending to be normal. Fact is everybody knows the drama of relationships, the passion, the pain. Not knowing makes you an utter and complete freak. At least that's how I feel. Until some years ago I used to be honest and tell friends at some point that I was still a virgin and never had a boyfriend. Someday I’ll tell a stranger that I killed a person. Simply to see if that confession arouses a similar mortified look.
After the look there’s always the pity. And after the pity the good advice.
Good Advice Number One: Be dumb. Men don’t like smart women.
Good Advice Number Two: Be hard to get. Men still think like hunters.
Good Advice Number Three: Be a listener. Men need attention. 
After the look, the pity and the good advice, there’s the worst part: the awkward silence. After all, everything everybody ever seems to talk about are relationships. Who they met, who texted or called, or who didn’t, and what either implies. Who broke up with whom, who got engaged, who is pregnant, who had an affair, who is good in bed, who is hot  … and of course you need stories to contribute. So I make up stories

9 comments:

  1. Loving that tagline!

    (Hey, ladies...You asked me to let you know when I kick the cat out of the bag. I did it today, announcing that I signed with an agent.)

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  2. First off, I have to say that tagline is my LIFE. LOL.

    I like this premise, sounds like an adventure in self discovery, one in which I won't have to be a virgin to relate to. The voice comes across as humorous and I think I'm going to have some ah-ha moments reading this story.

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  3. I like what I've read so far. Great concept: relatable (even if your not a virgin with 3 kids to prove it), and your MC is very likable within the first 250 words, which I believe is hard to do, so bravo.

    The only thing that threw me a bit was the voice. I was expecting a 28 yr-old TV producer to have a sophisticated (for lack of a better word) tone. It was quite casual, which is fine, but it sounded more like a teenager to me. For example, starting a sentence with, "Fact is..." And, all of the sentences are pretty short. Some of them seem like they could be combine to add sentence variety. Of course, I realize your MC is just talking to the reader and not making a business deal, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

    Also, I loved the "good advice." haha

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  4. Good, humorous opening with a nice voice :) I'm not a women's lit reader, so take this with a huge grain of salt...

    My opinion as a 27 year old virgin (I know, I know ;)) who is a well-adjusted and normal person, I think it's important that you include that her virginity is NOT a choice before you jump into this whole rant about how unnatural it is for her to be a virgin. I know this opinion's coming from a less-than-average place, but I might not be the only one out there who's turned off instant I meet this character because she begins by bashing virginity. I'm a virgin by choice, which I think is a lot different than being a virgin by lack of opportunity, and that makes a huge difference in a character when it's the first impression you're getting.

    I guess I just don't sympathize with the whole "I'm a virgin and hate it" thing from women. You can lose your virginity easy peasy. BUT if the rant is more about not ever having a RELATIONSHIP, I'd sympathize more. That means the girl's got standards and I respect her. Since she said "I'm a virgin" on the list, though, it makes it feel like that's the inherent piece of her identity that she's talking about in that first paragraph.

    No wonder I don't read Women's Lit, hehe. Anyway - Sorry for the counter-rant ;) I WOULD want to know what kinds of stories she makes up, though, so at the end of the day you can consider me intrigued.

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  5. I think the title is hilarious :) I love women's fiction and this sounds great. It's believable to me because other people do talk about their pregnancies, relationships, etc incessantly and a single person would feel left out. I love the line about telling someone she murdered someone. Nice single-girl voice.

    I'd love to read more! Good luck.
    Leslie (#2)

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  6. I like the theme and the humorous writing, but I'm not sure about the lead-in. Repetition can get wearing, so I wonder if you could bump this down further on the page?

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  7. The last line hooked me, up until then I was iffy. Not sure about the info dump in the beginning, I kinda feel like it's cheating, but I rarely read adult fiction, so maybe it's just fine. Fun voice, good humor. Good luck!

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  8. I read women lit from time to time, but haven't in a while. I like the voice, it's humorous and interesting, but I'd have to agree with what ashley has already said. It's one thing to never have really found a relationship that worth giving your heart and having sex (I think a lot of people can relate to this) and another thing if it's just the "virgin" bit that's upsetting her. Virginity can be lost pretty easily -- just go to a bar or something. But, at the same time, the farther along I get the more I think that's what you're getting at -- that she makes up stories for the relationships she wants, not just the sex. So maybe that's something you clarify farther in.

    But, either way, I'd keep reading on.

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