Waiting: Not My Favorite Game

It’s been a difficult couple of weeks for several reasons, but especially because…I haven’t heard anything back from  Agent.  I’m working, of course: the wildlife management report (in the process of which I discovered that my old printer no longer prints text…just pictures.  And not very well…with thin orange striped across them.)   Then there’s the Read More…

On The Way

NewBook I is on the way again…I emailed it to my agent yesterday and he got it (confirmation email, yay!)  so there’s that.  I took the rest of the afternoon off for a walk outside and horse chores. Today I opened NewBook II’s file.  You may recall that it is/was a little over 20K word, Read More…

Once Again…

NewBook I has had a partial read by Agent now, and I called to find out what his reaction was so far (about 1/3 through it.)   Still some concerns, things to work on, so I’m back in revision mode sort of,  hoping to also get back to work on NewBook II while it still has Read More…

Agent Response

Great relief of writer to find that yes, the whole package is back…my agent called Friday and we had a good long talk.  The book IS a book.  It is a reasonably good book.  It could use some work, but he enjoyed it, stayed up late to read it.  Also, all the things he talked Read More…

And the Beat Goes On

The final buffing and polishing (final is an indefinite word since there’s always One More Tyop to find) is now done.   So yesterday morning, bright and early, Book II poked its head up out of the debris left over from Book I and said “So let’s get started.”  And I said “I need to clean Read More…

Done-de-done-done

NewBook is done.   Three rounds of revision, wrestled to the mat on space, time, person, place, etc. issues.  From here on out it’s nitpicking time because it’s DONE. 172,125 words, counting chapter titles, datelines (actually places, mostly), 31 chapters (may need some chapters numbered differently, that’s an editorial decision I’d take advice on.) It’s a Read More…

Stage Three Revision

Stage Three overlaps Stage Two, because–especially this time–there’s no reason to ignore 3rd level problems while reading aloud to someone from the computer screen (there is no print-out yet.)    So if I find an entire paragraph that’s now redundant (a Stage Two problem) I just delete it,  or a temporal-sequence problem,  I mark that section Read More…

Closer and Closer…

Progress is still coming and the book is still GROWING.  I didn’t ask it to grow past 150K, I swear.  But it swore back that I need another chapter of this, and two more chapters of that, and by the way I’d left an entire Very Important POV dangling. So.  Still growing.   New Stuff is Read More…

Second Revision Draft

Second revision draft is now on chapter 22.   This book, thanks to the years of not writing and brain foggy stuff, may take more than one run through the “Construction Phase” to get things right, but every thing so far is willing to be nudged in the right direction.  My metaphors for the problems are Read More…

First Revision Draft

Done. But not dusted.  The miserable tooth abscess slowed me down and tomorrow will be all dental work with two different dentists.  It’s complicated.  You do not want to hear about it. The book however runs like a fox across country…and surprised ME with its ending, which is logical, crisp, definite, and yet…makes it clear Read More…