Almost Finished

I’m almost finished with the rough draft of my first novel length manuscript!  It’s pretty exciting, but I think it’s one of the times I’ve been filled with the most doubt.

Have I tied up all the loose ends?  Did I tie them up too quickly?  Do the characters suddenly know everything?  Does it make sense why the characters know the things they do?  Should more have been discovered earlier on?  Was stuff discovered earlier on and now I’m just repeating?  Does it make sense?

Gah!  Stress.  Very much stress.  I think partly because I’ve been avoiding figuring out the details and now I have to figure them out.  So it seems to me, as the writer, that too much is suddenly being revealed in the end.  It also doesn’t help that I can’t remember everything I’ve written in this manuscript.

But there is a reason this is the rough draft.  The rough draft is supposed to be like this, I have to keep telling myself.  It’s supposed to be my roadmap, my version of the outline.  Now I can see where the problems are, now I can say to myself, “Okay go discover this point earlier.  Make that point clearer.  Work this background in sooner.”  It’s supposed to help me see the clear, obvious flaws, so that the first draft is solid and strong, and so that my second draft is stronger still.

It’s not supposed to be perfect.  It’s not supposed to be good.  And that’s the hardest thing to accept.

I’ve got that itch.  You know, the itch, the twitch when you know something is off?  But I can’t quite fix it right now.  I cant.  I won’t have the holistic view of the story I need to transform it into the solid tale I know it can be.

Torture.  That’s what it is.  Torture.

Ah well.  At least I’m finishing of length, and that is something to be said :)

Exciting things for Saturday

What a beautiful fall day!  I love fall and I wish I was outside enjoying it.  Instead, I am spending my time cleaning my apartment and grading midterms.  Oh happy days.  Luckily though, writing will take place tonight.  :D

Anyways, on to the exciting things!

1) A new online ezine has launched today!  Check out Fender Stitch HERE.  It's a really cool ezine.  Why is it so cool?

Format: The format is awesome and unlike a lot of other zines out there on the web.  It's set up to present stories as a flip book which makes the stories interactive.

Illustrations!  Oh yes, you read that right.  They actually design a personalized illustrated 'skin' for each story they publish!  I would love love to have them publish a story of mine will an illustration of sorts.  Especially as I have the drawing ability of an apricot.

Pay rate:  They pay really well.  5 cents per word for short stories.

Lastly its an evolving ezine and it publishes all genres, 2 stories per month.  Check 'em out!  I know I plan on submitting something.


2)My second exciting thing is that I'm getting close to FINISHING the rough draft of my novel length story!!  I have never, ever written something that's novel length.  I had never tried before because, well, I think, somewhere in my mind, it seemed like such a grand goal.  It was something that other people did and something that I could never be capable of.

But I thought that about getting published too.  I was never sure I would be able to get published--even though it was always a dream or goal--and never, ever, dreamed of all the positive reactions I've gotten--and am still getting--to my writing.  I can't begin to describe the feeling of joy I have seeing my stories living in other places were people can enjoy them.


3) My third and final exciting thing is that I made some amazing pear and apple soup!  Yum yum!  I love fall :)

Live Chat on Queries

I just read something exciting and worth mentioning over at The Sharp Angle.

This Thursday, Lydia Sharp and a few others will be live panel on writing query letters!  I've always respected Lydia's eye for queries and her ability to write an excellent query so you can bet I'll be turning in to hear and get some tips.  I am no where near the query stage, but that's no excuse for not taking advantage of valuable information when it comes around.

Interested?  You can find more information over at The Sharp Angle or simply click HERE