The Excitement is Back!

My husband gave me some feedback on my outline that correlated to what I'd thought was missing: the fear and reality of the witch hunts. Sure, the protagonist runs and hides from witch hunters and gets caught by one and escapes, but the outline didn't include the other aspects of having witch hunts: the trials and executions. How to fix that hole?

I researched via the trusty internet and found useful tidbits in Wikipedia and different Scottish history sites to help me better understand witch hunts. The best source was The Great Scottish Witchhunt of 1661-1662. This PDF, while expensive for this non-income earning writer, was exactly what I needed. The paper dovetailed so perfectly with my story (or is it the other way around?) ...

• The majority of my story is set exactly in those years.
• The witch hunts were centered in Midlothian, Scotland, just south of where my characters spend most of their time.
• George MacKenzie, who helped free many of the "witches," is the same age as one of the major characters. Perfect for some fictional artistic license: he'll be an old school buddy of a main character and help the protagonist's cause.

The author of the paper listed several references, so should I need more info, I could search for those documents. However, I suspect they aren't as available to someone out in Arizona without a substantial fee. (Had I been in England, I could've popped into Cambridge and made a copy of the document. Would that I had a revenue stream large enough to do research on site.)

With this new information in hand, I've been amending and adding scenes that bring the trial and execution nose-to-nose with the protagonist. An added bonus: It made the story and process exciting again. It's been a while since I've felt this way with this story. Definitely full of Make-Me-Smile moments.

Now, to finish the outline so that I'm ready for NaNoWriMo in two days.

(Don't worry, I'm not going to rush through NaNoWriMo like always. I'll be thoughtful as I work this revision while trying to get as much done as possible. There is something about that looming deadline that motivates.)

Back to the Drawing Board

Yep. Back to the ol' Drawing Board. Time to review and tweak my outline.

Why? Because of my editor's comments. She gave me lots to think about, but the piece of feedback that will take the most amount of work deals with my setting. She highlighted something I hadn't considered. My story takes place in 17th century Scotland, which is very popular with other writers. So, she asked, how was I going to make my story stand out from the rest?

Um... After a few days of letting her question percolate, I have an idea. An idea that means lots of research and playing with facts and maybe even physics.

Fortunately, the work I've done so far won't be a complete waste as I can use most of my material. However, I predict major tweaks to how the setting interacts with my characters and vice versa. I think. At this stage, it's hard for me to predict how it will all come out.

While this problem-solving/creating effort, if not exactly exciting, is enticing, it means that the finish date of the story just got pushed out even further to some undetermined date. (Can you hear my frustrated sigh?) No, I haven't succumbed to the urge to ditch the story. And fortunately, my coach reminded me that any movement is better than no movement. So, I'll just suck it up and get it done.

To that end, I've printed out my latest outline and begun my research. Let the tweaking and twisting begin. How diabolical unique can I be? Time will tell.

In the meantime, I hope the Drawing Board is ready, cuz here I come.

Can you tell the difference?

I thought I'd let you be the judge.

As I've mentioned previously, I'm working on my time travel/romance story with an editor. One of the scenes I've been working on with Rosina is one that I'd posted on my blog before. This is where you can judge.

Here is the link to an older version of the scene. Below is the scene after my edits based on Rosina's initial comments. There will probably be more fixes to do, but until then...

Can you tell the difference between the two versions? Let me know in the comments.

==================================

The whisky burned on its way down, and Edison Simpson welcomed it. Some days, the drink was the only thing that kept him sane. He put down his cup and fought the temptation to pour himself more. Too much of the stuff and he’d miss what he came here for.

Chatter in the room picked up as people finished their meals. The innkeeper and his wife moved among the tables as they checked on customers and took empty bowls back to the kitchen. Travelers sat at the edge of the room. Locals sat in the middle. He didn’t belong in either group. Had he gambled on the right group when he’d seated himself with the locals?

A few of men at his table leaned back in their chairs with their bellies full. A few of them made noises about going home, yet hadn’t moved off their chairs. Soon the conversation at the table came to a lull.

Now was his chance. With a friendly tone he said, “So, I heard some strange stories about them stone circles.”

The men froze in their chairs. Not even the man at the end of the table, who had an opinion on everything tonight, said a word. He couldn’t blame them, but if everyone shut down every time he mentioned the stones, he’d never get home.

“I did not mean…”

Maybe they needed more help to loosen their tongues. Edison grasped the whisky bottle only to find that it was empty. He lifted it in the air and waited until he received a nod from the innkeeper.

He didn’t care for the innkeeper’s frown or care what the innkeeper thought. Who was he to judge Edison? If it meant plying men with whisky or pretending to be their friend, he’d do it. Edison would do what he needed to get back home. 

Home. Wife. Children. His army men. His stomach tightened into a knot. There had to be a way. After all, that stone circle here in Scotland and that cave in his Shenandoah Valley had been connected. But how? 

The innkeeper set the jug in front of him. Edison took it and poured himself some. Jug still in hand, he tossed back the whisky then refilled his cup. He took a moment to focus on the burn, then gave more to each of the men around him. The men uttered words of thanks as they drank.

One of them, the man next to Edison, raised his cup to Edison then took a long drink. When he was done, he wiped his mouth and sighed. Angus leaned towards Edison. “Leave them be, man. The stones are cursed. Dinna be looking for trouble.”

Edison stifled a snigger. Trouble? As if Edison didn’t know.

From down the table, the man with all the opinions called out. “Only fae and witches play at the stones. Which would ye be?” Edison turned towards the voice and found the Talker glaring at him.

Edison’s hand tightened into a fist as he stared back. “Fairies and witches? How would you know?” The two men locked gazes for several seconds before the man looked away.

Fairy tales and witches. He might as well be listening to escaped slaves talk about their voodoo dolls. Edison took another swallow of his whisky to drown his impatience.

The innkeeper returned and took the empty plate from Edison. “Are ye one of those witch hunters?” Another silence fell in the room.

Edison needed answers. If it was what he needed to do to get what he want, he’d utilize the tool handed him by the old man. He leveled his gaze at the innkeeper. “It should be every man’s occupation to rid this world of evil. Don’t you agree?”

From around the room, people whispered the words. “Witch hunter.” Edison wanted to seek out each person who had said the name. Read their faces. See the set of their shoulders. Watch their eyes. Instead, he was stuck glaring back at the innkeeper.

Yet, that he should be considered a witch hunter struck him as hilarious. If only they knew the truth. He bit back a laugh, but allowed a corner of his mouth to curl up. The innkeeper turned away.

Would calling himself a witch hunter help him? He’d traveled through tens of villages he’d travel through and asked about the stones. Not once had he gotten him what he wanted. He glanced around. Many of the men began to count out their coins. A few of them shifted in their chairs but cast looks his way. The Talker smiled in his direction. Already a difference. This new title just might be what he’d needed.

Edison picked up his cup again. If nothing else, at least he had his whisky.

My Editor and Me

Thought I'd share about my experience working with an editor, just in case anyone else is contemplating this path.

 My editor isn't just any editor, she's one of my favorite authors. Even though it's usually full of things to do, I squee when I see a new message in my inbox from Rosina Lippi. You may be familiar with her pen name Sara Donati. Yes, THE author of the Into The Wilderness series. Turns out that in addition to being a wife, a mother, an author, a communications consultant, a researcher, she's also an editor. Beyond the squee factor, I chose to work with her because of her writing experience, her great stories, and her professionalism as witnessed from her weblog and services page.

A surprising thing, which shouldn't have been had I thought about it, is that she took the time to really understand what I wanted out of working with her. As time goes on, and her editing hours stack up, she continues to make sure that we are both efficient in improving my craft.

So far she's worked on the prologue and first chapter of my time travel story in its first revision form. I've worked on Akeva's story for a long time via Holly Lisle's How To Revise Your Novel course, so it was the one most polished.

I expected lots of issues to be highlighted most polished or not. Boy, did I deliver. Rosina pointed out some bad habits that I didn't realize I had. Like...

• My words creep in and replace the characters' words.
• I use adverb phrases.
• I use more words than necessary.

I hadn't noticed those issues before. But now, I can now see these issues all over the place in my writing and am working to break these habits. I keep a cheat sheet next to me as I work to make sure that I work on those issues. I'm revising the next chapter with her comments in mind, then I'll send it to Rosina. We'll see how well I did.

I'm glad I took the plunge and engaged with Rosina. So much so, that I'm figuring out how to continue this relationship as I revise the rest of this story and future ones.

New Plan

Yep. I changed my plan.

I'm sure I've mentioned that I don't deal with change well. So this changing of my writing plan required lots of thought and activation energy. But, in keeping with "Going with the Flow" I said I'd adopt, and in doing something that excites me, and hopefully others given that I want my writing to eventually reach lots of others, I've chosen a new course of action.

My new plan consists of three main activities:

1. Death's Revision: Figure out what needs to be done to the 1st draft to make the story shine and get it done. 
2. Akeva's Revision: As it is mostly revised, finish the type-in I started a while ago. Once I have enough of it in the computer, I'll figure out a schedule  and publish it to my blog. 
3. Shorts: Keep writing moments and snippets from various writing prompts, do those writing exercises that I skipped over, and post to my blog.

Putting this plan here on my blog declares my intentions, so that I stick to it and get it done. 

With that said, I'm off to find working titles and cover images for both stories.  Until next time.

Which one?

What path to take?

That's the question. Not the question of self-published or traditional. For that one, I'm chosing both. Eventually.

The question deals with the Eventually bit --  The Which Story to Revise and Finish Question.

I now have four stories in different stages of revision, and I can't seem focus on just one of them.

My husband suggests working on Death's story, if only to take a break from Winter's story. I've received positive responses from a few of my blog readers on a few excerpts of Akeva's story. After asking some old friends for their take and expertise on Angie's story, I feel obligated to get that one finished and queried. (Sentence summaries for each of the stories are below.)

Do I drive myself mad and do them all at once? Do I focus on one and deal with the guilt of letting the others languish? Nevermind the bits of Jerl's (I think that's his name) story that burst out in my 21 Moment writing challenges.

Can you see my dilemma?

Out of curiosity, which story would you like to see first? Let me know in the comments. In the meantime, I'll work on ... something.


Winter's Story: Jack Frost's betrayal of his fiance, Winter -- The Winter Goddess and child of Mother Nature and Father Time, will result in a devastating ice age unless Winter can find her passion in time to stop him. (Working Title: Winter's Tango)

Akeva's Story: Lightning strikes and turns Akeva Riordan's world upside down, and back centuries. Struggling to live and love without that which she left behind in the modern world, Akeva's happiness and life are at risk again, this time from a traveler desperate to get back to his own time.

Angie's Story: Angie Cruz, a struggling computer specialist, comes face to face with her old boyfriend, who she thought had been The One, and in order to keep from going bankrupt, she must pretend to be his fiance to catch a cyber identity thief.

Death's Story: The only one who can save mankind from a forgotten god's vengeance also benefits from their destruction ... Death. Can she be convinced that the human race is worth saving?

My Take on "Revision and Self-Editing for Publication"

After taking James Scott Bell's free webinar, "Novel Revision: Craft a Story Readers Can't Put Down", I bought his Revision and Self-Editing for Publication, 2nd edition.

As I've yet to embrace the revision side of writing, I was hoping that this book would give me some tools to make revising less hellish.

Here's My Take on the book...

The majority of the book, Part 1: Self-Editing, contains chapters on story fundamentals like characters, scenes, dialogue, and exposition. Bell briefly describes each topic, then offers advice on how to tighten, deepen, or heighten the tension in your story based on the most common mistakes that writers make. Each chapter ends with a summary and exercises to develop your craft for that story element.

In the Character chapter, Bell suggests creating a Character Voice Journal. This free-form journal would be used to capture a character's stream of consciousness,  to develop a unique voice for a character. The idea of using a journal for a character was new to me and something that I plan on using in the future.

The rest of the book, Part 2: Revision, offers advice on how to tackle a revision. The last chapter contains "The Ultimate Revision Checklist." This checklist covers each of the story elements he touched on in Part 1 with questions to consider for each element and common fixes for problem areas.

Bell included something he calls The Three O questions, which revolve around Objective, Obstacle, and Outcome, and are designed to fix the worst scenes in a story. The questions require brainstorming and going beyond the obvious or easy solution to find unique O's to make the story fresh and unique. I can see this being a useful tool for my revisions to avoid predictable stories.

Much of Bell's advice has been covered in other writing craft books that I've read, and served as a great reminder. I appreciated his suggestions to correct common issues. I'll try out a few of them in my next revision and maybe while outlining my next story.

I wished that the Ultimate Revision Checklist was available as downloadable content. However, I typed a majority of the checklist so that I can have it on my computer and tablet for easy reference.

Did I get what I wanted from the book? No. I think I wanted a magic wand that would give me a way of revising that would be easy. But based on what I've experienced and seen in Bell's book, I'm realizing that revising isn't supposed to be effortless. (I just wish it wasn't so painful.)

Would I recommend the book to other writers? Yes. For new writers, it's a good overview of issues to look for with advice on how to tackle them. More experienced writers could use this book as a refresher and quick reference tool.

So that's My Take. Has anyone out there read or used this book? In the comments, give me Your Take, Let me know what worked, or didn't work, for you.

A Revision Aversion Toast

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I HATE the revision process.

As a "new" and unpublished writer, I'm still learning what works and what doesn't. With alpha and beta readers, I'm getting a handle on the what works on that aspect of the writing process, but revising and what works for me? Let's just say I'm as motivated to sit and revise as I am to scrub powder cleaner in toilets with my bare hands. With motivation that low, no wonder it's taken me over a year to not finish even one revision.

I can only complain so much. Right? Right. So, I'm finally doing something about it. Beside moan and grit my teeth when I sit down to revise.

I signed up for Fast Draft, Revision Hell, an online writing workshop with Candace Havens. Her short description of the class ... "Fast Draft uses tools and psychology so that you can write a first draft in only two weeks. A rough draft. Revision Hell teaches you how to take that draft and turn it into something golden in an equally fast way."

While drafting hasn't been an issue for me as I usually draft during NaNoWriMo, I'll be glad to pick up tips and tricks in that area. It's the Revision Hell side of things that I'm interested in. I'm under no illusions that I'll finish a revision in two weeks with family and summer right around the corner, but wouldn't that be heaven? However anything is better than my current rate.

In the workshop chat loop, introductions have begun; one author lives in Australia while most of us are scattered throughout the US, there are a few published authors as well. Work starts in earnest on 14 May, right near the culmination of our school year and some of my volunteer activities, so I'll be busy.

Until then, I will be developing a protagonist with a deep need, an antagonist that stands in her way, and hopefully, a way for the protagonsit to achieve what she needs. My planning worksheets are all printed and primed.

So, here's a toast, or a couple, to finally doing something to address my revision aversion. Let's hope this works!

Stuff and Revision

It's been quiet around here, as in here on the blog not here in my life. Life has kept me busy with family stuff, kids' school stuff, and general life stuff. My 3rd grader, as well as her teacher, would gasp in horror if they saw all the times I used the word stuff rather than descriptive wording. But sometimes you just gotta use those words.

But not in writing a novel. No, not in a novel. Or at least not often.

Now that I've finished mashing my outlines for my novel, I'm back to revising. (One day, I'll finish this dang story. Honest.) I've gone back to the start of the story, making sure that the story fits with this new outline, changing the plot as needed. In doing so, I've realized that I've minimized the stuff in the story. If I wrote a detail in, it's because gives a clue to the story, to the characters and their outlook.

I've been thinking how I use detail and stuff for the past few days. My husband started to read one of my favorite books, and commented that the author spends more time developing her characters than I do. While I strive to deliver a story that sticks to readers like hers do, I'm not sure that I want to write like her. She likes detail. Me, I'm not such a detail person, I'd rather read/write dialogue or action. When I said as much to my husband, he shot me a wry glance; between the two of us, I'm definitely the detail person. So maybe, that's an avenue for me to consider: adding more details.

My gut reaction is to ignore that consideration. But it's really not about me, is it? It's about the story's need. It certainly doesn't need details for the sake of bloat, but to make the story colorful and lively, to keep the reader from putting the story down, to leave the reader wanting more.

So, I'll keep my gut reaction in check, and add a sticky note to my laundry list of things to watch for while revising, and see how it goes. And, hopefully comments from the beta readers will help me gauge how well I've managed that balance.

Finally Finished.

Yep. I've finally finished my 2011 NaNoWriMo novel! Now to figure out how to celebrate ... panini for dinner and maybe some new music? Choices, choices, choices.

Having just finished the story, you'd think I'd be ready to move on, get a break. But noooo. Frankly it's a bit annoying that I've already started a list of the things the story needs for improvement ... like changing the male main character's role in a group to something bigger, adding more chuztpah from the female protagonist, and don't even get me started on the things I need to do to the last scene. The list grows and grows.

But as next week is vacation, a major holiday, and I have two other revisions waiting in the wings, I'll give this story about Death, aka Moragayn, a rest until after the New Year to allow some objectivity to settle in. Then, I'll wedge the revision of this new story into my writing schedule and work on my To Do list.

Until then, I'll distract myself with holiday activities and some browsing on iTunes and Amazon.

Bits & Pieces

Bits: Inspired by Lisa Cohen's recent decision to share her short stories, I've decided to post more bits of my first story as #FridayFlash. (I've already posted a few scenes here, here, and here. Those posts inspired by Sylvia van Bruggen's posts.) My practice won't follow all the guidelines of the #FridayFlash community, but hopefully it captures the spirit: writing and sharing one's work. As a side benefit, it will force me to finish the story revision. Since I intend to focus most of my attentions on my other revision in process, my posts may be a bit sporadic. Why do this, beyond wanting to share? Akeva and Brian just won't let me be with Angie and Jason exclusively, so this is my compromise.


Pieces: How is that 2nd story revision going? Well, another scene is done. My scenes-to-do list continues to shrink, one piece at a time. The next scene actually requires the revised back-story I created a few weeks ago. I  look forward to changing the dynamics between characters with this new information.

Bits & Pieces Together: Yesterday, my husband asked if I had a plan in place to prep for November's NaNoWriMo. No, as I hadn't planned on participating this year. But since he mentioned it, of course I can't stop thinking about the thrill of a new story. Luckily, I've got something I could develop and wedge into my writing schedule. Anyone else planning on NaNoWriMo?

I Don't Love Revisions ... yet

I don't even like revisions. Other writers at least enjoy this part of the process. Not me.

Planning, creating, writing the story -- no problem. It's the unending search for weak structure, lame verbs, and lazy characters that seems insurmountable. Could be because I'm still learning the writing process and all that goes with it, like this revising thing. Or maybe I rebel because I was raised to do something right the first time, and having to revise is an admission that it wasn't right. And how do I know if it was right or not?

Mt. Everest Photo by Chris Walker Innerwealth

Hence reading the writing craft books lately and reviewing my two Holly Lisle writing courses, most of it not yet ingrained in my brain or writing process. So, all that information just adds up to a checklist from hell. And I have that checklist printed out next to me, glaring in its sheet protectors, along with the thick stack of my planning sheets, a paper notebook, a pen, my digital notebook (my computer + tablet), and my manuscript hard-copy. Doesn't it all seem like Mt. Everest?

So, no more procrastinating with digital photos, the kids chores, my household chores, Kindle books, Deadliest Catch, knitting, Scrabble, this blog post.

Who knows? Maybe I'll like the revision process ... once I'm done with it. (And, please, don't remind me that EVERY story has revision, that won't help.)

#FridayFlash - Lightning

More #fridayflash for you. Enjoy...

"One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three--," Akeva winced as the deafening boom rattled her bones. Arizona monsoon clouds loomed overhead, she hadn't realized the storm was that close. Five Mississippis closer than her last count a few minutes ago. Shit.

Of course the storm traveled much faster than her, it didn't have to rely on legs to get through a mini-obstacle course. Unless by some miracle, she wasn't going to reach the safety of her car, which was about five miles away, before the worst of the storm hit.

But she kept running over rust-colored dirt and past twisted juniper trees. It wasn't like she could stop and take cover. Where would she hide from the marble sized raindrops that pelted her skin out in the middle of the Sedona desert? Plus, she couldn't run too fast otherwise one of those loose, rocks that littered the ground would leave her limping back to her car or unable to walk at all.

Never mind her backpack, or the things inside it; too much bumping and her electronics would be toast. At least the bag would keep them dry, or mostly dry. Akeva didn't want to contemplate buying all new electronics just before starting grad school. So, she ran holding her pack straps tight, trying to minimize the damage to her precious cargo. Fortunately, there wasn't anyone around to witness her running like a dork.

Water dripped freely down her face. Any other time she'd enjoy the dusty smell of the rain, even try to photograph some lightning strikes. Not now. Frequent lightning strikes lit the sky and the dark desert, while thunder echoed off the rocks and the rain fell in earnest now.


Definitely not a good situation - rain, lightning, no shelter, and electronics.

"Idiot."

Akeva couldn't believe she'd ignored the signs and kept photographing. If she'd heeded the waiter's advice this morning, she'd be nice and safe in the hotel room or in her car driving to California. He'd warned her about monsoon storms, how they would sneak up and cause havoc, spawning deadly flash floods that took people by surprise. But she'd lost focus of everything except for the majestic Bell Rock. She'd filled nearly all her memory cards trying to capture the beauty of the magnificent rock formation.

And now, she was paying the price.

She ran past a small gully, thankful it hadn't started to run with water, and berated herself. She should've kept driving to San Francisco instead of detouring to Sedona to photograph the area. But how could she have driven so close and not tried to emulate all those gorgeous photos she'd seen on the internet? She'd reasoned a day trip wouldn't affect her plans much, just one day less in Berkeley to find an apartment. Her soon to be new roommate, LeeAnn, had totally understood, had even encouraged her to make the side trip.

Another blinding flash. "One Mississippi, t--,"

The world turned bright and everything shimmered. Akeva wasn't sure why her body began to tingle, but she knew she had to get to shelter. Now.

She released her pack and ran full out. It was her life or her electronics, she chose life.

The tingling in her body intensified with the each lightning strike, like the storm was causing the strange sensation running through her body. If she wasn't running for her life, she would have laughed at the insane idea.

She still couldn't see the road. How much further was it?

Another fear gripped Akeva. What if in her hurry to get out of the storm, she'd gone the wrong direction?

She stopped and glanced over her shoulder. Bell Rock loomed over her, but--

A brilliant, white flash blinded her as pain incinerated her body, then everything went black.

500 page Stack

I did it!! I finally finished the write-in step of my revision.

Yep, that's a pic of my creation. All 500 pages of mostly handwritten, double-spaced, crossed-out, arrowed, sticky-noted words.

Now to type all those words into my word-processor of choice, tweak, line edit and prepare them for agent queries. Sounds like a daunting task, trying to figure out what all those loops and arrows might mean. But after toiling to this stage of rewriting with a binder full of worksheets and analysis, frankly this next step seems like a cakewalk.

I plan to celebrate this milestone by taking a mini-break from this revision and participating in NaNoWriMo, purchasing new software, attending a celtic festival and enjoying all that November brings. For when December starts, I'll dive into that sea of words and race to the finish.

Busy and a Finish Line

Lots of writing going on around here. I'm SO close to finishing the first pass revision of my first novel. It's only days away from completion.

If all goes according to plan, I'm keeping my fingers crossed, I'll finish this first pass and take a break before typing nearly 500 handwritten pages on the computer. During that break, I'll outline a third novel and participate in NaNoWriMo. I'm still waiting for lightning to strike so I can settle on a novel idea; I have a few ideas floating around. I'm cutting it close as NaNoWriMo starts 1 November.

All this despite dealing with a broken shower stall, parent-teach conferences, the kids' elementary school Fall Festival and my 20 year high school reunion on top of everyday tasks.

So, please excuse the sporadic and short posts.

Manuscript Highlights

This past weekend, I went into my office to grab something and stumbled into a unique experience. My manuscript sat on my desk completely bathed in light. I'd left the curtain open and the morning light coming through my window lit up the document. It reminded me of those images in movies where God, or some sort of divine being, shines down blessings upon someone or something. It actually glowed.

So me, being me, I took some photos. The one I've included below is from my iPhone that captured the glow off the printed paper.

Time to get back to writing to make the story worthy of such a glow.

Photography, Writing, & Roses

I love flower photos. I love taking flower photos. And in this era of digital photography, I love the instant gratification that comes from seeing my shot only seconds after I took it. And I absolutely love it when the shot comes out better than you planned, which to be honest, happens less than I'd like. But in that case, all I have to do is fire up the photo manipulation tools in my arsenal --  crop the image to focus the eye, dodge there, a little burn over here, retouch to get rid of the rogue leaf that's sticking into the frame. Only minutes on the computer and a wonderful photo can be at your fingertips.

I took the photo below on my recent vacation, and after only a few minutes in Aperture 3, I had something I liked, if not loved. Notice the soft background and the perfect petals.

I love to read good books, and I figured I could write a good book. Writing a good book takes a very, very long time. Read: no instant gratification. This revision has taken much longer than I planned, and I'm only 45% of the way through my planned scenes, that amounts to 195 handwritten pages so far.

And then you don't always know if it is good by looking at it. Well, I don't at least. So I asked my husband to read an excerpt recently and I got an, "Interesting." Not exactly the response I expected.

I'm still learning when to delete, when to add, when to use shadows to hide things, when to expose details, what details to expose, and mostly, when to trust what I've written. And its taking too long for my tastes.

 I'm discouraged. Sometimes I think I should just focus on photography and give up on writing.

But, I'm going to push through this discouraging stage and stick with my writing. Sort of like when I stuck with engineering in college and grad school. I got through those tough years and worked with organizations that were leaders in their markets. I've got to remember instant gratification isn't everything. (Did I just write that?!?) Eventually, I WILL get there ... a published fiction writer of good, if not great, stories.

And who knows, maybe the rose above is really a portend for the Rose in my story, as well as for me.

So, I'm going to print my rose photo and place it in my writing space and use it as a reminder. A reminder of good things to come, even if it isn't instantly.