Maisey Yates and the World’s Most Terrifying Manuscript

Sounds like an epic saga worthy of being adapted to a Summer blockbuster. The story of The Girl Who Wrote and her perilous journey to the heart of a manuscript so terrifying it was only referred to as The MS That Must Not Be Named…

Hmmm…may be a good plan. But, if that doesn’t shake out, I just have to get this thing sent and polished. And it is terrifying.

This is Presents #8. Beast Sheikh. And I’m a bit scared of it. Why? Because when you try something outside of your comfort zone it. Is. Scary.

Now, there’s nothing new under the sun. I’m not breaking any new ground here, but it’s new ground for me. And as a result, I’ve felt as thought I was feeling around in the dark at times without any clue of how to figure out where I was going.

A scene would come into my head and I would say…no. No, my imagination, you have gone TOO FAR. And it would be all, no I haven’t. Write the scene.

So, with much trepidation, I would write the scene. I’ve built a full MS off this system now, and this weekend has been the challenge of going back through it and deciding where I’ve gone too far…and where I haven’t gone far enough.

That’s the things with The Fear. It can pull you back. Keep you ‘the safe zone’. But something I’ve realized while working on Scary McBad MS is that there is no room for fear when you’re stepping outside the Comfort Zone. It’s all or nothing.

Now, that gamble may mean you miss by a hundred yards. It may also mean that your shot richochets off a tree, bounces from the metal weather vein and shoots down into the bullseye. One things for sure though, if you play it safe, you won’t have pulled off much of anything but a watered down, scaredy cat story with half-realized conflict.

That’s the place I’m at. Turning all the nobs up to 11 (I am mixing my metaphors like MAD up in here…do you see the crazy??) so that if I miss, I at least miss with flare. (Now, I’m hoping to hit, but y’know, I’ve had to rewrite *coughalotcough* before.)

That requires taking those risks that scared me. Going for bold strokes instead of tracing in little faint outlines of what I’m trying to say.

Now, I must get back to the MS That Shall Not Be Named…Go on, paint with bold strokes. 🙂 Don’t let fear stop you from getting something truly great.