Revising strategy

Okay, started a new job this week and since training is taking up so much of my time, I've decided to take a chapter of OTHR with me everyday. I can revise it on my lunch hour. I'll be further along than if I let it sit at the house.

I seem to get more done when I have more to do. I'm sure you know what I mean. The adrenaline is pumping, organization mode stays in play, rather than relaxation mode.

Day 2 Hartwell

I arrived in Hartwell around 10 AM yesterday morning prepared to explore the lake, to find out if the research I'd done on the internet was accurate.

I was disappointed to find that I wasn't able to get to the shoreline because of paid access to park roads and gated communities and marinas. So this picture is typical of what I was able to see, mostly from the highway.

I will visit another lake Friday on my way back to Atlanta in hopes of viewing examples of the foliage, housing, geographical environment and community to finish the world building for my series.

Today I drove around a local waterfront community gathering pictures and ideas for future books. Then I did a little shopping at the Home Goods store and Bed Bath and Beyond where I found some beautiful square dishes with a wine and cheese theme.

My cousin, Pete, for whom I named one of my characters, is visiting from Vietnam. The last time I saw him, he took me on a real insiders tour of D.C. I saw places I'd never known about growing up there. Tomorrow we will see our cousin, Carol, in Va who hasn't seen Pete in 40 years! It's a mini cousin reunion!

Last night he gave me the Google earth tour of the buildings he's built in Vietnam, commenting that the greatest thing that's happened in his lifetime is the internet. He used to have his sister order construction manuals and ship them to Vietnam. Now, everything he needs is online.

Gotta, go. I'm off my diet for this trip and we're fixing to go to an ice cream place for dessert. Later, gator.

Revising and looking back

I was reading in Maisel's, A Writer's Paris, where a woman had been writing for a long time and finally she got a major advance of $15,000. Her husband said to her - "Let's see. If my calculations are correct, that means you made about 22 cents an hour." (Sounds like CFMan.)

When I pitched MOL in Shreveport it was at 82k. FIMB was a nearly complete novella at 14k. I returned from Nola Stars with a request from an editor and an agent for a partial on MOL and FIMB, and finished them. Then, I started slashing some indepth sub plots and a couple love scenes out of MOL to see if it would work as a 65k novel. That put me into early April.

It is now the second week in June, and I'm just completing revisions on the partial manuscript to submit next week. Amazing how much I've accomplished since the close of crawfish season. The good news is that I set June 15th as an achievable goal a couple months ago and it looks like I'm on target.

Now, I know that getting a first novel ready for submission takes longer because of the learning curve, applying the craft you've learned in the process, working out critiquing relationships and conventions with writing partners. I also had to work around the job and Joe's seasonal crawfish business.

But it's daunting when you look back at three months work and you didn't start anything new. My CP's been busy, submitting two and starting two. Of course one of mine was full length and you might as well say that now I have two versions, 65k and 90k. I also have partial wips of some connected stories that can be developed fairly quickly and I've been collecting characters and situations for RCM.

The thing is I'm happy with the product that's been produced and I'm doing it for a lot less than 22 cents an hour right now. And I know now that if I never sell - great racking shiver...

I'd do it anyway.

MOL update

FINALLY!!! I got my revisions done on MOL to a point where I'm satisfied with it enough to send to my CP for final look. Of course she might disagree once she sees the changes I made.

I was only going to go in and fix the love scene but I started at the beginning and saw many sentences that needed restructuring, a few punctuation changes for better flow, just a lot of little things. But I felt good about most of the changes.

I know, it's late to be re-re-re-vising, but I felt it added to the MS. We'll see what Leah thinks.

Anyway, now I get to move on to the synopsis and I'm actually looking forward to it. But have to clean out my office, hang clothes, straighten the house and do wash before I can think clearly about it. Kind of clear the canvas.

My June 17th deadline should still be achievable for submission.

Revision Update MOL

Three steps forward, two steps back, but at least I haven't stopped moving.

My goal last week was to get my first five chapters revised so I could get them to my critique partner and start working on my synopsis and query letter.

Well, I got 4 out of 5 chapters revised but I have to rework a love scene before I can finish. I'll try to get that done today so that while I'm running the mail route this week, I can be thinking about my synopsis and query letter.

I mustn't stop this week just because I have to work, have to learn to accomplish small pieces of the larger goal, especially when it gets down to the uncomfortable, unfun stuff like revision.

A Novel's Journey

I'm starting a new tradition. When I read Write Away by Elizabeth George I was so encouraged that she included her 'journal of a novel' describing the feelings that plague all authors at each step of the process. I meant to begin this in October when Leah and I were taking the Deep Edits class but we were too busy with all the work. lol.

So once a week I plan to update my progress, my successes, and probably some insecurities which will show up with solutions later.

I've listed the steps to this point in my goals on my website but here's the jist of it for 2008.

January - Began FIMB novella, wrote 14k. Continued writing another 40k on MOL in preparation for Nola Stars Conference March 1.
February - Got to 80K on MOL before conference and spent the rest of the most preparing pitch, synopsis, business cards for it.
March 1 - Met with agent and editor and received requests for partials on MOL and FIMB.
CURRENTLY: In revisions on both, critiquing with CP, getting ready to do RODIWRIMO, Angela Knight's workshop, and start something new. Have been nearly stalled by my internal critic. She's very influential, thinks she knows more than she does.

If I can get through crawfish season, hopefully I can get the revisions done on both partials and get them sent off by June 25th.

Alien flowers

I have proof that at least one alien woman has been here. No earthling bred this flower!






Went to pick up more tomatoes for Crawfish Man to plant and when I saw all the pretty flowers I just had to have a few - $50 worth to plant around my writing space by the bayou.

Gorgeous impatiens, a new orange daisy, petunias in pinks and reds, an azalea that blloms three times a year and this little outerspace flower. Isn't it cool?

Fortunately for my writing schedule we have another cold spell coming tonight and tomorrow night so I won't get to plant them until later in the week. I'll update my bayou pictures when everything blooms.

Today I have to worry about chapter 2 of MOL revision and writing something new, probably RCM. I'll report my progress later.

Partial revisions

My goal for submission of my partial manuscript of MOL is no later than June 30. Crawfish season will be over. Work should be a little slower and I should have my revisions complete for a final look by early May.

My meter for the 50 pages of the partial.

I finished!

I finally finished my first manuscript - MOL. I'm so relieved - another goal met.

When I pitched it last month it was over the publisher's word count but it wasn't finished. Now I have two versions, one which may or may not make it through the cutting room floor, and the original.

As if that wasn't hard work, now the really hard work begins. This is the one that took second in Romancing the Tome '07. So I must make sure the rest of it lives up to the contest entry.

While my CP takes a look at the two versions of MOL, I'll go on to the next three goals.

Finish FIMB. (I like the hero too much to submit to its intended publisher so I'll see where this beautiful guy leads me.)

Refine first three chapters of MOL and FIMB for submission to publisher and agent. (Is that one or two - I have a tendency to make too large a goal, but I'm working on it.)

No writing this weekend though, 'cause I'm helping Crawfish Man - biggest crawfish weekend of the season! As usual, there's not enough to go around and this season is the worst so far. Late, young, and soft crawfish make for high prices and low supply.

Happy Easter!

Kick in the Pants progress

I set goals that I thought I would reach on our Kick in the Pants challenge given by Christine D'Abo. Here's my Wednesday report for the first half of week 1.

Goal: My goal was for 10,000 per week. Minimum.

From Sunday through today, I wrote approximately 4500.

This week's goal was to finish my first MS (15K) and move on and finish MOL for the Shreveport Conference Mar 1. Well, I reached 15k but...I can't actually say I finished it.

Complications:
I kept writing and writing and it just wasn't happening so I checked my settings and found that I'd unchecked inclusion setting for some folders in my writing program which had reduced my word count. Long story short, I'm over my goal of 15k but now I have to either lengthen the book or cut it to complete it which I will do later, it's not due til end of March.

Forgot we had a deer to process which would take half my Monday so I wrote 1700 by noon then took a four hour break, returning to investigate the word count issue.

Started on MOL today but had to re-familiarize myself with it again since I haven't looked at it for over a month and I'd planned changes to the story direction. So, no forward progress today.

All in all I'm pleased with my progress and will write forward tomorrow. If I get 2000 a day through Saturday I can still meet my goal of 10k this week.