So I am three days into my non-writing binge. The craving has started. I loved the first seventy-two hours or so, but it’s starting to feel like enough is enough.
I got my first reviews back from readers on fictionpress–blogged about them on my own blog, so I won’t repeat that here–and my first beta reader comments last night and this morning. I spent a few hours reading the manuscript yesterday–something I promised myself I wouldn’t do, but did anyway. And now… I want to tweak. Just a little. Just a bit here and there, a repetition, a typo, a clunky sentence. And I want to write something else. I’m busy for the next couple of days–there will be no writing time–but my thoughts keep turning to stories.
I loved my main character by the end of the book. She was often a pain-in-the-ass along the way. In fact, always a PITA.
SPOILERS!
From the very beginning, she drove me crazy. She and the other main character find a lost child in the first chapter of the book. I had this mellow idea that she’d bring the kid home while they looked for the kid’s parents. She said, almost immediately, “I’m a doctor, a mandated reporter. No. The child goes to DCF.” SO inconvenient. Later, she had one little job to do–to open her door so that she could get kidnapped. She flat-out refused, saying, “I’m not stupid. No.” At the almost climax, she gets the gun. What does she do with it? One guess, and if you guess something to do with the Hippocratic Oath and a complete unwillingness to defend herself with physical violence, you win.
From the very beginning, she was a character who simply refused to play along.
And I’m done writing her. I can go write someone else now.
My fingers are itching to start.
Ah, writing addictions. So hard to admit to and begin the process of healing. 😉
Actually, I’m still quite jealous of you – sitting at the end of your work while I’m sitting here at the beginning of mine. I like beginnings. But right now I’d rather be basking in the glow of the pre-editing stage.
I am definitely enjoying the glow of contentment. And I just whipped off 1000 words this morning of a long-abandoned story to soothe the itchy fingers. It was fun!
Excellent. And how goes the pub company plans??
I’ll send you some stuff on Friday. I’m off to Disney at the moment for two days of eating myself around the world! (Epcot, Food and Wine Festival, staying overnight for the next couple of nights.)
I’m feeling fairly pessimistic after some of my recent research, though. Book sales are down everywhere, the market is really glutted. And reading the stories on Wattpad — well, it could be harder than I thought to find solid stories to make offers on. The model we talked about only works if we are publishing quality titles and can develop a reputation for such.
Well, no rush on the biz idea stuff for now. Today I am accepting a job offer that I received yesterday. I’m going to be the Catering Sales & Marketing Manager for Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. Very nice starting salary, full benefits, and I managed to negotiate a little bit of my work week from home. I am really excited to get out there and work among humans again. 😀 But I’d be lying if I didn’t own up to a bit of nervousness about working out of the house. I’ve been working from home for over 16 years now. That’s a long time to work in PJs and slippers. I don’t even own any closed-toe shoes. 😉
Congratulations!!! I’m so happy for you, I know how much you’ve been ready to find something regular. And ditto on the closed toe shoes! If I were to take a regular job, my first paycheck would definitely have to go to getting my wardrobe back into semi-professional shape!
Reblogged this on Right to the (Pen's) Point and commented:
Today is day six of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). The challenge is to write a 50,000 word novel in one month. There are no prizes, and it’s not necessarily a contest; it’s to give people motivation to write a novel. According to NaNoWriMo.org, writing a book is a “one day” event, as in, “One day I’d write a novel.” NaNoWriMo gives people a chance to shelve their excuses and hammer out 50,000 words.
I’m participating in this year’s NaNoWriMo. So far, I’ve written 6,158 words. It’s exciting and tedious, but I love this competition. Previously I debated whether to get involved. I figured my energy would be better spent working on manuscripts for novels already written. I have resolved to revising those manuscripts. But I want to get in on the NaNoWriMo fun. After all, it’s only once a year. The best thing about NaNoWriMo is the camraderie amongst perfect strangers over a common goal. Even though my home region is Orlando, FL, this is an international event. It also helps that I outlined the novel and my characters.
What’s my novel about? Well, this is the summary I wrote on my NaNoWriMo profile: “After her death, a woman meets a group of deceased mothers in the afterlife, who are grieving for their children and express regret for their motherhood mistakes.” Previously, I debated whether to join this year’s competition. I figured