“I’m late! I’m late!
For a very important date!
No time to say hello, goodbye!
I’m late! I’m late! I’m late!”
I think I could successfully masquerade as the White Rabbit this Halloween. The end of the month is upon us and I still haven’t finished editing my novel. National Novel Writing Month begins in a mere five days.
“What?” you say. “Is your book that big a mess??”
Well, yes and no. There is plenty of ‘mess’ to straighten, but I confess I have also fallen victim to avoidance. I’d rather scrub the toilet than edit. I’d rather clean the basement, reorganize all my computer files, watch paint dry… Or work on my book cover. Or make a map for the book.
Speaking of Halloween, check out these awesome Severed Fingers I made instead of editing:
Pretty awesome, right?
Good news, though! I survived wading through the entire thing, pruning the overgrowth of those dreaded Filter Words. You know the ones. “Filtering is when you place a character between the detail you want to present and the reader.” (Suzannah Windsor Freeman at Write it Sideways) Those things grow like weeds on steroids, but I certainly learned a lot. I’m thinking of creating a typographical art list of the whole list so I can print it and hang it right in front of me while I’m writing. About now I’m picturing each word as some kind of monster or demon, and not because Halloween is in a few days, either!
I’ve also made it through a good portion of my revision log, a document in which I list things that make me have to stop and think about a solution that I haven’t yet devised. You can read more about it here: Revision Log. Sometimes my notes to myself are a little lengthy (but not more than 2-3 sentences!), which can be a good thing. It helps me remember the concept of the missing information. I have a few lines whose purpose entirely eludes me. The information is too brief and/or cryptic. I’ve decided that’s good, too. If I don’t understand it, I can delete it!
So what’s this book about, anyway?
For a thief, getting caught is never a good thing. Getting caught by a wizard is even worse. But when a man is coerced into stealing a nonexistent prize, threatened with his very life—and that of his not-so-darling sweetheart—and compelled to cooperate with his worst enemy, well, a man’s got to do what he’s told. Unless, of course, he can think of a better plan.
As the Crow Flies is coming to an e-reader near you. SOON, dangit!
The act of writing is an act of optimism.
You would not take the trouble to do it if you felt it didn’t matter.
• Edward Albee •
In the Mirror and Dragonlace are both available for the Kindle.
EWWWWWWWW severed fingers. LOVE them! (Did they taste good?) Stop baking disgusting yummy things and get back to work, woman!
The readers (me included) are hungry for more words — not fingers. You've made terrific progress getting through two different types of editing. I am awed and impressed. And inspired. My turn!
They were pretty darned tasty, yup! I'm told the blood, er JAM was a good addition.
I'm awfully, awfully glad to be finished with that particular editing stage, and I can't wait to see your next story. You know what else? I'm excited to do NaNoWriMo with you again this year! WOOT!