Novel Success!

Five months of writing to the date.

86,456 words.

335 pages.

Having a finished novel sitting on my desk ...

PRICELESS

I finished my paranormal romance novel Reap 'Em & Weep tonight. You'll read this tomorrow sometime. It feels like a real accomplishment. I sort of like just carrying it around.

I have no idea if it will ever see the light of day but I always wondered if I could do it. Stick it out until the end. See it through. Turns out I can. That feels pretty damn good.

The only thing better than having a project is having a completed project.

My plan now is to let it sit and percolate for a couple of weeks per Stephen King's advice in his book On Writing. The idea is that when you go back to it and read it to do so in one or two sittings so you don't lose focus on it. Also, after letting it sit for a while and going on to new things, it will be like reading someone else's writing. You'll have more perspective on it.

I think that idea is swell.

Bryon is begging me to read it. Now that it's done, I'm chicken to share it. It's not ready. I know there are some plot inconsistencies I need to iron out. Other things I need to flesh out. Still more I need to take out. I think it will be like a scab that you can't stop picking. At some point, I'm going to have to share it. And I will, I promise. I can't keep a secret, let alone something this big.

Just not now. Just not yet. I need to pick at it a bit more first.

Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to do it. Thanks to Bryon and Grace who endured Ramen noodles and Beanie Weanies more nights than were probably healthy.

Tomorrow I plan to start another one. A rolling stone gathers no moss. This isn't a sequel yet, although I have at least two more in mind for a Reap 'Em series. God knows how I like a series.

I'll let you know a little about the next one when I get rolling, for now I can tell you it's going to be based on the Worst Case Scenario books. Did you know they have a paranormal one? They do my friend, they really do.

The Write Stuff

This is my novel manuscript so far. Today at lunch I sat down to start to rewrite it from the third person perspective. I didn't even make it through the first two pages and decided that was just nuts. I like it like it is. I like my character's first person voice. I'm not rewriting it.

Tonight I started editing it instead. Like riding a bicycle, marking with a red pen came right back to my inner English teacher self. It's been a month since I really worked on it so now it's like reading someone ELSE's writing, which is pretty cool.

That was one of Stephen King's suggestions in On Writing. Let it sit, then read through as much as you can of your work in one sitting and with that distance from it, it will be like reading someone else's work. He is totally right. Well of course he is, he's Stephen King, duh.

It's easier to be critical of someone else's work and let the red ink flow. Sort of like grading one giant paper. But a lot more fun. With no pesky teenagers to interfere.

At the last ORA (Ozarks Romance Authors) meeting a published author showed us her editor's change requests letters for two of her novels. One had only about twenty changes. The other had over a hundred and twenty. I decided to try that with my own novel so I'm making notes with page numbers and notations in a spiral notebook as I go so I can go back and fix/add in the big stuff when I get through the whole manuscript.

Then when I have it as good as I can get it, I'll let a couple of people read it. Probably my two paranormal romance loving friends Dawn and Carla. After that, if I have the 75,000 words I need, I'll pitch it to Harlequin. I know, I know Harlequin sounds cheesy but if you haven't read a Harlequin romance lately, you don't know what you are missing.

Mine won't have a secret baby, or a Sheik so no worries there.

They have a line called Nocturne specifically for paranormal romance and they have some very noteworthy and respected authors. Seriously, you should check it out. It's not your mother's serial romance anymore.

I still think I can make it into a series if I can get away with doing the next book from one of the OTHER character's perspective, first person or third, I still haven't decided. That may be a big writing no no but I've made this bed and now I'm going to lie in it.

Speaking of bed ... time for some zzzzzzzzzzzzs.

Book Reruns - Day 7 of 31 Days of Blogging

I was talking to a friend the other day about books and reading and she told me how much she likes to read some books over and over again. I can't do that. For me the thrill is gone after the first read through. As much as I'd like to relive the little charge I get out of a really great scene or entire book, it's just never the same again.

While I don't have a very good memory for trivia or details and couldn't tell you character names or much at all about any book I read more than a few weeks ago except that I enjoyed it ... or didn't, as soon as I start reading it again, it all comes back to me.

Song lyrics are the same way. I couldn't recite the lyrics to any song just off the top of my head but as soon as it starts to play, the words come back to me. I'm pretty sure this is not a unique ability. I just think that recall is the same thing that happens with books for me.

I've only reread a handful of books through the years and while I did enjoy them the second time around, it wasn't as exciting. Reading a new book is such an adventure. You just never know what's around the next corner. Or in the closet. Or under the bed.

This summer I reread The Stand by Stephen King. I've also read Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury maybe four times. I've read To Kill A Mockingbird twice and Sue Hubble's A Country Year as well. Other than those, I can't think of any others I have reread. There are probably a few.

Of course book sellers like to try to trick us with new covers every so often. I've been duped more than once into buying the same book twice. They just make them so darn appealing and I totally judge books by their covers so I'm a complete sucker.

I'll bet if I just opened it up and started reading though, it would all come back to me.

My friend Deanne likes to read Dick Francis books over and over. She finds them comforting like literary mashed potatoes.

What books have your read over and over?

Read on.

Something About Nothing - Day 4 of 31 Days of Blogging

The Nothing Pitch - Seinfeld on You Tube ... Click Here To Watch

See, I told you this would happen. It's only day four and I have nothing to blog about. Every day is just not blog worthy. Today, I went to work, made a few stops, had lunch with my favorite contact person, came home and warmed up leftovers for Grace so we could rush off to her makeup soccer game in Marshfield. Then when I got home, again, I had to make a spaghetti casserole thing so I could take it the church dinner tomorrow night. I was supposed to make brownies too but then I spied the package cookies we had bought for the Sunday felllowship we skipped so, I'm taking those instead.

See, not blog worthy. Instead of a quality post you are getting a lame stream of consciousness spew.  I've been sitting here tonight trying to come up with something. I've got nothing. I asked Bryon for an idea. Bryon suggested I write about how great he is. Not too surprising really. He is pretty great but if I write too much about that his head will swell up and explode. I don't want to clean up the mess so what else you got for me?

He also suggested writing about nothing, like on Seinfeld. I told him that would be a very, very short post. Of course then I had to go to YouTube and find The Nothing Pitch and watch it. I have seen every single episode of Seinfeld so many times. A solution to pretty much all of life's problems can be found in a Seinfeld episode. They should make a book The Zen of Seinfeld. They probably already have. I should Google that...

See how it is... you start to write something about nothing and the next thing you know you're pinging all over the internet like a cosmic ADD maniac.

Sometimes I think just writing, anything, helps break loose more ideas. Creativity spawns creativity. I did no writing on my book today. I feel like I need a good long stretch of time to clean up my plot flaws and proofread before I can go on. I don't see how that is going to happen right now. 

I have been reading Stephen King's book On Writing and it's been very inspirational. I need all these little tricks and pushes of affirmation to keep myself motivated. Especially on days like this. When it seems like there is nothing to write about.

Okay, I'm going to stop complaining now. I'm starting to sound like Harry Potter complaining about homework in book five.

I'll try harder for tomorrow. Really, I will.