There was this long hiatus of no writing for me. I made excuses and put it out of my mind for a while. I focused on other things.
But my mind kept coming back to it. Writing is something that won't let it be too far outside of my life.
One of the stalling blocks had been a (perceived) problem with the story I got a rough first draft done. But I have since figured out how to solve it.
So now it starts the rewrite phase, where I find all the parts that really fit and make sure they weave together into a good story without major loose threads.
Then there's the polishing. And the polishing. And the polishing.
Did I mention the polishing part?
Then I can start sending it to publishers and agents for rejection.
I'm excited about it (writing and the story both) again. Now if only I could find more time without giving up all my sleep...
It took about a month. Readers of that other blog I was doing (the guy who didn't exist--see Letting Go) are starting to post comments asking him where he went.
It wasn't uncommon for him to drop out of sight for a couple weeks. But then he'd come back with something juicy. And his visitor traffic hasn't gone down at all in the month or so since he vanished (still more traffic than I get...). I think people keep checking back thinking, Oooh, this is gonna be good...
I don't know if I should come forward as the author or not. I'm still not sure how his readers are going to react to that.
Which reminds me, I should get more up about my writing. We'll see when I can get something done for that. Maybe some teasers for the current book. Maybe part of one of the others. I don't know.
I have to make lunch, and feed my iguana, and do the whole working stiff thing...
I've been feeling overwhelmed the last few days. That Business In Piralle (formerly The Reltice Emerald) needs what will amount to a near total rewrite. I need to re-storyboard it (essentially outlining it), which is just about back to square one. It'll be a better book for it. I'll still have the sense of accomplishment that came with finishing the first version rough draft, but my initial plans of having it ready to submit to publishers/agents by year's end now seem...remote at best.
I'm estimating there were maybe 300 hours put into the first one. That, plus revision time, doesn't seem feasible in three months. Between job hunting and being helpful around the house there just aren't that many hours available in the week.
In other news, on Monday I tested at another agency. They're working on a decent lead for me, if it pans out. I took the same test for Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. All three took me about twenty minutes total. I also tested in Access. I guess I know it, too:
Basic Score Percentage |
100 |
Intermediate Score Percentage |
91 |
Advanced Score Percentage |
100 |
I might set up that test at one of the other agencies and see if I can get Microsoft certified in it. I did that for Word/Excel/PowerPoint no problem. It was free. How could I pass that up? Doing it for Access just seems to make sense.
In other other news, this morning marked three weeks of jogging every morning. It's been the same block (about a third of a mile) every time. One more week and I'll switch to a block down the road, which should push it to half a mile. It's not much, but at least I've done it every single morning. And it is getting a little easier each week. Seeing progress from it feels good. I'll be adding more things like that, too. By the end of the year I want to look back and see a year unlike any other (and not just because of the job transitions, thank you).
Maybe even the year I turned my life around.
The FAQ at www.dictionary.com has some cool stuff. Here's what they say about commas before the and in lists:
Q. Do I put a comma before and?A. Sometimes . . .
The use of a "serial comma" (in a series such as "bread, butter, and beer") is a matter of taste. You can either leave it in or take it out ("bread, butter and beer" works just as well). But its absence can sometimes change the meaning, so read your sentence carefully. The Alt.Usage.English FAQ cites the example of an author who dedicated his novel thus: "To my parents, Ayn Rand and God." Clearly the author should not have omitted the serial comma in this case.
I love that example. Now, my habit is to put it in. Err on the side of clarity. Including it doesn't cause problems. Omitting it can.
So, there's my thought on it. Just for the record.
Well, Amy has already mentioned it on her blog, but yesterday I finished the rough draft on The Reltice Emerald. That's what nearly a year of lunch hours adds up to.
That was followed by a good half hour or so of what felt like an adrenaline rush.
But after that I found myself still at work, and still not happy about being still at work. At work, when I'm frustrated or feeling insecure about my job, I clean things.
My desk damn near glistens. The coffee area is spotless. I started running out of places to clean...
Well, there's now a way to give me money via PayPal.
Why would you want to do so?
Well, for one, I need a laptop. I've got projects in the works, and a laptop would make things quite easier.
The biggie? Fiction. As in book writing. It's what I want to do, it's what I'm doing. If I can make a little money doing it, then maybe I can quit the corporate work junk and write full time.
Mid June Dad and I are going to Canada for a week. Before then, I'll have the complete rough draft of The Reltice Emerald, which I don't think I've said anything about before. Now's not the time to get into details. But the complete rough draft is pretty close to done.
When I get back from Canada, I can start revisions fresh. I'm expecting to have the final in the mail to agents and publishers no later than Christmas, although I'm expecting it might happen before Thanksgiving. Having a laptop to work on would make the entire process quite a bit easier.
I'll even make a couple offers:
I'll publicly thank anyone who donates, if you like.
Whoever gives the highest donation before I mail the final out gets a signed copy out of the first run.
If you read books, think of your donation as an investment. :-)
Hey, I gotta promote myself, right?
Well, company should be nealy here. I'll post progress reports, and maybe a teaser or two, as time goes on.
Amy has mentioned it on her blog, just thought I'd do the same.
Quick Shtick Writing is a little writing project she started for us. We're taking turns writing one story. We each do about a paragraph or so, and then it's the other's turn. There is no pre-planning, no preconceptions. The rule is that each paragraph builds on what comes before.
We each end up having our own ideas about where it might be going, but usually we have to toss that out when we read the next paragraph anyway.
The particular method of doing it has some amusing side effects. For one, I think it's going to end up a bit of a soap opera. Each of us tends to make the paragraphs all important to the story. So with each posting there's a new plot twist or development. What started us out thinking, "Hurm, what will he/she do with this?" is turning into, "Hah, let's see what she does with this..."
I'm posting one each morning, she posts either during the afternoon or before she goes to bed.
In other news, the blogroll on the right isn't working entirely right. It's supposed to put an asterisk behind the link to any blog that has been updated in the past 24 hours. Most of them have been updated, but aren't showing that way. I'm not sure why. There are other sites that will be added over the next few days.