Skip to main content

Celebrate with Me!

Image
By
So I achieved a great milestone yesterday: I actually finished my first draft of my current novel.  I don't know if it's fully sunk in yet because I don't seem as excited as I think I "should" be.  Don't get me wrong - I am so glad it is done, but I'm also not finished with it yet.

Maybe that's the thing.  Maybe I'm dreading the next part.  This is a novel I really want to pursue publishing with, but I know that is going to be a lot of work.  And what I'm dreading most is what it needs the most: cutting.

My biggest weakness when it comes to writing is cutting.  Remember all those length requirements you had on your essays in school?  Yeah, I never had even a twinge of a problem meeting them.  In fact I usually had a harder time staying within the upper limit requested. 

I have a really hard time knowing what is essential, crucial information, and what is fluff.  I don't know what I can reasonably get rid of and not sacrifice my story; or (heaven forbid) what might actually make it better.  I really need a good, critical reader who is willing to read through it and say, "This is useless, but this is good."  Unfortunately, I don't have the money to pay someone who does that professionally on a regular basis (though I am joining a critique group, so I'm hoping they will help).

But today celebrate with me because I have a good first draft.  Now I just need to focus and teach myself how to make it great!

Comments

  1. Eric SwedinJanuary 22, 2010 at 9:43 PM

    This is indeed a milestone. Congratulations! Now you get to learn to delight in a red pen killing your children (I mean words).

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Top Eight Things I *Love* About Writing

By
http://www.123rf.com/ Why do writers write?  It's certainly not for the money. The major success stories are all we hear about, but they are actually so rare as to be laughable.  So why do writers write? I think the answers are individual for each writer, but similar across many writers.  In honor of Valentine's Day, here are the top eight (8) reasons why I write: 1.      The creative process.   I love when I have a new idea in my head and I get excited about it.  I love to express those stories and put them on the paper for someone else to enjoy. The mental process of figuring out how to make a story work is fascinating and exciting. 2.      The escape.  When I write, I get to create the world and events.  It allows me to be in control of how good (or bad) things are.  It rejuvenates me to face my own reality again.  Writing is one of my outlets of stress relief; I can always make things worse for my character than whatever is going on in my life.  Whether directly
4 comments
Read more

K12 Teaching in 2020

By
Today I drove home from work with my rock music blasting at higher decibels than, I'm sure, was healthy. But I needed a heavy beat loud enough to feel it vibrate in my chest. I'm not a drinker, but if I were, today would be a three-glasses-of-wine day. And there's no specific reason. Except that I'm only a month into the school year, and I'm already exhausted. And I'm not alone. All you parents out there who are concerned about the style, quality, amount or any other qualifier of education your child is receiving this year, I can guarantee you that an entire team of teachers, administrators, and support staff is just as worried. We're doing our damnedest to meet your (and our!) expectations. Right now, I'm barely keeping my head above the water line. I am the kind of personality who plans things out. I visualize my dive into the deep end, consider all possible complications, and then perform a smooth breaststroke from one side to the next before any of t
1 comment
Read more

Superfriends

By
This story intentionally follows comic book canon only loosely.                  The doorbell chimed throughout the mansion. A tall, white-haired butler clicked across the tiled floor to the doorway. As he opened the door, a dark-haired man stood in the pouring rain.                 “Welcome, Mr. Kent,” said the butler.                 “Alfred,” the man replied as he handed the butler a pair of glasses. “I’m always glad when I can take those off. Especially toward the end of the day, they really hurt my eyes.”                 “Indeed, sir.” Alfred carefully set the glasses next to a potted plant on the entryway table. “You are the last to arrive. The others are in the den.”                 Mr. Kent strode across the entryway toward a door spilling light into the foyer. As he entered the room, a hexagonal table stood in the middle with five chairs pulled up to it. A man with a firm, square jaw met him at the door with a handshake. He wore a black cape and mask that looked lik
Post a Comment
Read more