Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Bucket list

Per my update last night I’ve completed this round of work on my manuscript.  This is huge for me and I couldn’t be happier.  I’m thrilled with how the tweaks and rewrites came out.  Hopefully I’ll be sending queries soon.

I’m behind on my 10 week deadline but surprisingly I’m okay with it.  I took the time needed to work instead of rushing through it and in the end that helped me craft a better novel.  With any luck I’ll make up that lost time somewhere else.

With the last obstacle I spoke of, I chose to condense 8 pages in to 5 while tweaking some paragraph placement.  Cutting all 8 pages would have taken out some dialogue I felt was relevant and by condensing I still gave a character their chance to show us a different side of him.  Cutting all 8 wouldn't have allowed that.

As for the word diet-I cut just over 12,000 words total.  I didn’t hit the 20,000 I’d hoped for, but as I said in one of my previous posts it’s not so much about the number of words as it is about how they tell the story. 

So now that I’ve sent my manuscript in for critiquing you may be wondering “what next?”, so I’ll tell you.  While I wait for my manuscript critique, I’ll begin work on the first draft of the sequel.  I have one of the major plot twists already set and it’s the kind of twist no one will see coming-my favorite kind.  I’m looking forward to writing it out.

I’m excited and nervous.  When I get this way I start thinking about all the things I’ve always wanted to do.  So I got a crazy idea and made myself a bet…

If I land a publishing deal at the end of this rollercoaster ride, I’m setting myself up for a “bucket list” type challenge.  What is it?  I’m not going to reveal it just yet but trust me, it’s BIG.  My heart pounds thinking about it.  Only two people know what it is and they’re both sworn to secrecy.        
   
A hint:  It’s something I came close to accomplishing in my previous career path before I retired. 

I’m thinking that for every 10 fans that “follow” or “like” me on this blog, Facebook and Twitter (I’ll use the combine totals), I’ll reveal another hint.  Once I reach say, 60 fans, I’ll post what it is.  If you think you’ve figure it out before the big reveal, email me first to confirm it.  If you’re right I’ll give you kudos on the blog.

If I reach the 60, I’ll do another “fan me” item.  Maybe a character bio, maybe a page of the story, who knows…

I only got about an hour’s worth of sleep last night (bringing this week’s total hours of sleep to 8) so I’m taking the rest of today off-I feel I’ve earned it.  

3 comments:

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  2. I must say you did a great job on that character. He is one of my favorites in the book.

    And i know your secret! But my lips are seeeealed!

    And yes last night was a well deserved day off. And who cares if you went over your deadline. Just like you said and i always say its better to take your time and make it perfect. Rome wasn't built in a day.

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  3. Sorry I posted the same thing twice! Stupid phone :-). But this gives me a chance to say that Katie is amazing at what she does and you are all in for a treat when she starts sharing more of her story to you. Or better yet, when you have the actual book in your hands!

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