Hey, hey...it's been a while. *cringe*
So a very lovely friend of mine pointed out that I haven’t updated my blog since…well since I started it! So I figured, if I ever want to break into this whole blogging thingamajig and gain some followers sooner or later, then I should probably update it…frequently. And, she’s right….. DUUUHHHH!!!
So what’s the latest with me? Not a darn thing, ;-).
Just kidding! I’m working on the, hopefully, final revision of my novel. Character development, perfecting the YA voice, cutting unnecessary filler, and breaking away from my classical writing style have always been my main problems. And I’ve had plenty of literary agents, critique partners, and family/friends spout out those four issues to me repetitively.
“Way too complex, dumb your writing down.”
“I’m not connecting with the main character…I want her hard exterior to crack faster than it is…”
“This reads like a classical novel, I’m unsure your target audience (YA) will connect with this…”
“Cut about 60k and send me your revisions…”
“I’m so very close to loving this, but I’m not there yet...dig deeper and get to know Logan better. He’s missing something. I can’t put my finger on it, but I’m sure you can. He is your character, after all.”
That’s the real deal above and I got tired of receiving criticism that surrounded the areas I’d been working on forever and just couldn’t completely refine. Yes, it was awe-inspiring, extremely helpful, and very much valued feedback but I didn’t want that kind of feedback anymore. I wanted to fix the freaking issues and get this show on the road…my novel, I mean. ;-)
This past spring I got incredibly frustrated while working through my novel and attempting to sort out the kinks, so I simply started over from scratch about a month ago. I saved my last revision of course, but I wanted a new start--a fresh document, clean slate, and blank page to allow my beloved mojo to do its thing. And my story is all in my head. I don’t need to access an outline, notes, my old document, or whatever …it’s all up here, friends *taps noggin.* With that in mind, I just wrote and wrote and wrote…or typed, and typed, and typed.
And…it totally worked this time.
Because I started anew, fresh ideas to strengthen my plot and characters have ricocheted off my mind and onto my word document like “nobody’s bizness but mine and my babayyyy!” –And yes, my novel is my baby.
I’m partially satisfied with the progress I’ve made and I believe I’ll be ready to start my querying process late November. However, I need to research the best time to contact these agents I have in mind because that’s the holiday season and I’m not talking to any work associated folks during the holidays. Yep, all of November and December is me time. I take two months vacation…not that stinky three day for Thanksgiving and two week winter break for Christmas. Let me stop before I get fired or something….Oh wait! My real name isn’t tied to this blog! Muaaahahahaha! *Gives self dap*
So, if you’re struggling with revisions and trying your hardest to conquer those issues that folks continue to point out to you…then maybe you should start fresh--on a blank document and without referring back to your old document constantly. I mean…it’s crap anyway, right? LOL! Stop looking at that thing and go back to square one. Remember how you shot out that first draft so freaking fast?! Remember how short of an amount of time you did that? It was because you were motivated, eager to finish your novel, there were a billion awesome ideas in your head that you needed to put on paper quick, fast, and in a hurry, and had one or two hundred blank pages to fill up.
As writers, it’s important for us to return to that place that caused us to capture such a deep passion for our novel. Return to that location (beach, library, café, park, basement, granny’s attic, cemetery, hotel, deck, fireplace, mall food court, classroom, etc.) where you produced your best work and get a move on! Set a goal to write at least 500-1000 words a day and watch and see how soon you will eventually surpass that set goal.
Go to your secret place and get it done already! Something will flow…and this time, it’ll flow so smoothly.
**God Be With You Always**
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