What are you doing on the slush pile?

Attended a talk by my agent Sarah yesterday where she was telling a group of aspiring writers the do's and don't of writing children's fiction. Most of her key points are on her website http://www.greenhouseliterary.com/ so I won't go over them here. But also do read her blog, especially the past ones.
Firstly, it made me aware of some painful statistics, which YOU MUST IGNORE but put things in perspective.
Sarah gets 300 submissions a week. Only 3 does she typically find engaging enough to read to the end. That's 1%.
Of the 3,000 odd submissions she's received since she set up (this is all on her blog, that's why you should be uptodate at ALL TIMES) she's only taken on 3-4. That's 0.1%.
Sarah's strike rate is very high. Everyone she's submitted has sold, so far. This proves she's very good at picking winners, or at least the front pack.
How to get into this front pack?
I certainly don't profess to having any secret clue, but do read Stephen King's ON WRITING. It's utterly essential.
BUT...
Study. Read everyone else who you'll be sharing shelf space (i.e your competition) with and work out how and why they work. Attend courses and learn the craft. Swordfights and battles for example, MEAN NOTHING in fiction. It looks all very glamourous on film, but that's because film is visual. The greatest strength of writing is the INTERNAL WORLD of the protagonist. What's going in on his/her mind? Read any of the Sharpe novels and much is made of the night before the battle. The anxiety, the fear, the tension is all there. The event itself is splendid, but that's because we've had the night before to build emotion into it. Action does not move plot, RESOLUTION of the action (did they win or lose) moves the plot.
Lord of the Rings is another case. The defeat of Sauroman is OFF PAGE. It doesn't actually matter to any of the main characters, doesn't move the plot along and frankly, it's consequences are not significant to the Ring bearer's quest. Frodo's journey is predominantly internal. What's at stake is his heart, his friendship to Sam, his steadfastness against the allure of the ring, with Gollum as his shadow self, the Frodo that Failed. This is playing to the strength of the form, this is what novels do best. We love him because he's small and big hearted, he's scared but heroic. That's why Strider is second fiddle. He has no real emotional journey to make. He's a hero at the beginning, he's one at the end. His rise to kingship is mainly external, done by deeds rather than internal growth.
Also, enter competitions. This is how Harriet and I got Sarah's attention, not through the slush pile. The Yearbook has a long chapter on these. They are in a way MORE important than the list of agencies. Enter them and when you've got a couple of wins under your belt (even one) THEN contact the agent. It proves you're better than the rest. Which is what you have to be.
DON'T RUSH. If any of you from last night's talk are reading this, be warned. Wait until your ready to blow Sarah's socks off, then send it to her. She gave you a lot of very useful info last night and there is NO WAY you've incorporated even half of it into your writing. To make sure you've done all she asks is half a year's work, at least. I know because it took me half a year with her sitting at my shoulder to do it. So, if your finger is hovering over the SEND button, please reconsider. Can you honestly say you've already done everything she's told you?

Writing IS rewriting

Back on Devil's Kiss, reworking it for the US market. What's curious is that there are subtle mods required beyond changing the odd word and eliminating the 'u' out of colour.
Obviously it's the same book (though if you insist on buying both US and UK editions, who am I to stop you?) but there's a different emphasis.
I'm bring this up when I've finished it and can review it with a bit of distance and objectivity, but the rewrite's going much more smoothly than before, now I've a bit more confidence with what to do.
Just read Here Lies Arthur, which wasn't on my list and I've just bought another book I really didn't need (but one has to support one's local ye olde book shoppe) and I...liked it. It's been so widely reported as a masterpiece, it won Reeve the Carnegie and is a great, deceptively simple read. But...
I really did think his Mortal Engines was MUCH better. Also I am a huge fan of Arthur (as you'll see shortly) and it's very hard reading him being cast as a scumbag. Which was the point, but still.
There, said it.
While I'm at it, the ending of the Country for Old Men was RUBBISH!
Oh, and really, when will Phillip Pullman write a proper LONG book? Which reminds me, they've got his small little pocketbook story in the library, which I must read. Obviously, I think Phillip Pullman is GOD, or at least some significant divine being (but would that mean he doesn't believe in himself?)
Rant over.

DEVIL'S KISS COVER

OMG!

Please allow me to reveal the cover of my book. It's been created by the awesome (nay, LEGENDARY!) Tom Sanderson and frankly, I'm a very happy camper.

I'd just settled down for some serious writing when it appeared in my inbox. Since then it's been...oooh, pretty.

The publication date is (I think) early May 2009. It's now out of my hands and into the machine...

It seems REAL now, in a way it didn't before. It's got words, its got a cover, it's got the Puffin logo, it's going to be a BOOK. A manuscript no longer.

My top five for this year, so far

Oops, the discipline thing's slightly gone out the window, and it's only Week Three. So today is BIG WRITING DAY.

But first...
Have seen lots of films this year, now the girls are old enough to be dragged along to the cinema I have all the excuses I need, and the fact that, frankly, I have a lot more spare time for 'research'.
So, what I've seen and LOVED this year, 2008:

1. The Dark Knight. Well, d'oh. I've been a long time fan of Chrsitian Bale (well, since American Psycho) and was more pleased that most when my favourite actor became my favourite comic character. It just proves there is order in the universe. But we won't be dwelling on the 'Batman arrested' headlines, thank you.
2. Rocknrolla. Awesome and a surprise all round. Never been a Guy Ritchie fan but more like this please, Mr. Madonna!
3. Tropic Thunder. Robert Downey Jr AND Tom Cruise (as you've NEVER seen him before). The dance over the closing credits is worth the price of the ticket alone. Bizzarely Ben Stiller and Jack Black are the least funny things in it (IMHO).
4. Iron Man. It's hard putting a Marvel character on this list, but basically it's the Robert Downey Jr. effect. Everything he does is great.
5. The Duchess. Nah, only kidding.
6. No Country for Old Men. Hmm... I putting this in because the cast was amazing and the tension around Javier Bardem just terrifying. BUT I have issue with the ending (it's the same in the book) and it's over the Arch-plot v. Anti-plot saga (read McKee's book on screenwriting called STORY. It's heavy work but totally worth it). Simply put Arch-plot is everything makes sense and all key issues are resolved. The story goes from A to B to C etc. Anti-plot means that nothing makes sense and you can have space aliens land in the middle of a costume drama and it's okay. It's common in comdeies (the Life of Brian with him falling off the tower, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail are two that spring to mind).
NCFOM is arch-plot story with an antiplot ending. VERY annoying. I've argued with others over this, but that's what I think.

Right, the list above may well change because A Quantum of Solace is just around the corner...