tirsdag den 5. april 2011

Two-Sentence Tuesday

Two-Sentence Tuesday is hosted by Women of Mystery. 

Perhaps you have noticed that I have darted around like a headless hen for some time. No, not literally (at least I hope not though it might explain a couple of things), but literarily. I have moved back and forth between two longer projects - my English cosy mystery, "The Halloween Murderer", and a Danish one called "Stenen for Graven".

Perhaps I shouldn´t tell you yet, but this weekend I found a way out of my dilemma - I returned to an old, Danish manuscript. A good solution? Well, only time can tell. Some of my very reliable beta-readers assure me there is a lot of potential in "Crystal Nights", however, so I will try to follow this plan:

1. Improve the weak middle part
2. Make the characters more realistic and engaging
3. Translate it into English


A sentence or two or... from the opening scene (Berlin 1938):

Sara Goldberg Stein closed the last suitcase and sank down on one of her beautiful Biedermeier chairs. The room was cold, and though she did her best to keep the flat clean and well aired, a sour smell of tarry soot had penetrated everything. The wallpaper was damp and mildewed, but perhaps it would not matter anyway. If Simon was right...? 
.

6 kommentarer:

Elizabeth Spann Craig sagde ...

It sounds like a good plan to me, Dorte. And editing an older manuscript frequently goes quickly because we almost feel like we're reading it for the first time. :)

Anonym sagde ...

Dorte - I like your plan; it makes a lot of sense to me, actually. And those sentences are attention-getting and descriptive! I should now go and look at some of my own cast-off writing...

Kelly sagde ...

If that little bit you shared is an example of the new plan and revisions, I think you're on the right track. It sounds great!

Dorte H sagde ...

Elizabeth: the first part was very easy. I think I am fairly good at ominous beginnings. But after the first couple of chapters this work lost momentum so there is much to do.

Margot: I am a bit cautious about returning to old stories, especially as this one has been rejected by a couple of Danish publishers. On the other hand there were parts of it they like, and right now this is what I want to do.

Kelly: I have given you the very first lines, and though I may edit the language, I don´t think I will make major changes to my Berlin prologue.

Unknown sagde ...

I can't wait to read them.

Dorte H sagde ...

Thank you, Clarissa. Right now is this very early stage where I can hardly wait to see what my fingers write myself.