“Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. I know it has been a very long time since I was last in touch. I’ve been writing a novel, you see.”
OK, so those aren’t my words, they are the words of J. K. Rowling, but that doesn’t mean they are any less sincere! Had not been spending hideous 10 hour days at the computer…(6-8 at work and another 3-4 at home)… I would have written something original. But I’m saving the good stuff for the novel. It is almost done. I am on the last chapter. I say that with some amount of trepidation because I know that I am going to rewrite a good chunk of this baby before a lot of people even get to see it. I’ve already changed some major plot points, pulled out some characters, created some new ones…and well…with the manuscript the way it is now…it is not consistent. Some characters just disappear. That is not good. Publishers don’t like that.
October will be the month of crits. I am attending the writing workshop at the Context Convention (http://d683087.u36.infinology.net/) and that will be an intense weekend for me but a great way to get the ball rolling. Thanks to my two writing groups…I will have plenty of people to start doing first reads….I want to get feedback on the synopsis, query and first three chapters soon, so I can keep them in mind as I make revisions and try to tie this book into one cohesive story.
To give you a good example…it took me three days to go over two chapters and make revisions. That means pulling out the printed hardcopy, marking everything up with red ink, crossing out whole sections and rewriting them on the backs of recycled paper and then typing up the edited version in the computer. It takes me about an hour to an hour and a half to type up the revisions. I’ve also become very fond of writing by hand. In a world where technology rages, who knew I would be so in love with blue ink and a leather journal. It is the journal used by all the greats, so perhaps that has been my true muse.
By the way, if you haven’t seen the illusionist…hurry, go see it before it disappears from the movie theaters. I really enjoyed it. Hooray for movies that have pleasantly surprised me!
Stay tuned. I am going to be updating my links…I have several author friends you should be taking a look at. I will also be updating the mailing list. Woo hoo. Now would be a great time to let me know if you want to be added. Email changes, address updates….send them my way.
It is sooooo way past my bedtime. I am going to go dream about better days, ones that end with sunny days, margaritas and Cancun breezes. That should be my reward for getting all this done!!!
