Phase Three -- Complete

Whew!

I finished my third rewrite last night. I use the word "finished" very loosely because,I rushed through the last few chapters so I would meet my June 30th deadline. But I think I've got everything where it needs to go now. It's just a matter of tightening and cleaning up the writing. Which should take about, oh another six months.

God, I really hope not!

I was looking to procrastinate the other day and I pulled out one of my old manuscripts. And then I was overcome with the need to get back to it. To reacquaint myself with those characters and finish their stories. I miss them. Is that strange? To miss a fictional character that only lives inside your head? Maybe that's why people think writers are crazy, huh?



I've been trying to decide whether or not to continue with my current WiP, cleaning it up and making it shine, or to dig back into this other one. I'm sure distance would be helpful. After all, I never did take some time away from it. As soon as I typed The End, I dove right into the edits.

So, what do you think? Does it really help to get some distance from a piece of writing before ripping it apart? Should I start something new and let this one simmer for a little while?


In non-writerly news, I took part in the ridiculousness that is the Twilight phenomenon on Tuesday night. A bunch of us went to the opening show at midnight. The place was packed to the ceiling with squealing teenage girls and soccer moms wearing Team Edward or Team Jacob t-shirts. I'm not a rabid Twi-hard (that's what they're called, right?) by any means. In fact, I'm downright cynical and will always be the first to make fun of all of it. A friend of mine force-fed me the books last year and I have to say, I prefer the movies. At least they're not filled with a thousand different descriptions of Edward's beauty, you know?

Oh, and if anyone is wondering -- I'm totally Team Jacob.

Cue the Hallelujah Choir

So after nearly seven months of slaving over mediocre words and underdeveloped characters, hiding from scary scenes and pathetic prose...after months and months of telling myself I was no good, and I would never, ever finish this book, yesterday at about 1:27pm,

I

FINISHED

MY

FIRST

DRAFT

!!!!!!!

And this is how it felt:








And I found this picture in a google search for "freedom." I thought it was an interesting representation of the writing life. The chains represent the burning drive to write that we can't escape and the butterfly is the something beautiful that comes out of it.



I'm going to spend the rest of my day relaxing and reveling in the knowledge that all those torturous months paid off. Then, I'm going to do a quick run-through edit before I set it aside for a while. I have some continuity issues that Dana noticed when she read the first few chapters. Mari's best friend, for example, has four kids in one paragraph and three in the next. And then she's back to four three pages later. And Mari's relationship with her ex lasted somewhere between five and six years -- it seems to vary from page to page. Lots of work ahead of me. But I guess that's what happens when you write your first fifty thousand words in thirty days, huh?

I hope everyone has a marvelous Sunday -- I know I will!

So Close I Can Taste It

I have been a bad, bad blogger. I've thought about writing a new post, even started one or two, but everything I say just sounds like word vomit. Words for the sake of words. Boring, whiny, annoying. But I'm trying again!

I have to work today. Saturdays are the days Satan created, I'm telling you. I swear, the population of the general public drops about fifty points when Saturday arrives (side note: I said this to a co-worker last Saturday, and he said, "No, it's more than that -- it's more like THIRTY!" Point proven.) I'm not looking forward to work, but I have tomorrow off, so I'll be okay.

Oh, I should probably mention my progress on The Never-Ending Novel. I pushed past 100k last night. And...

I'm

Still

Not

DONE!

I knew this would happen! This thing refuses to end!

I just have to write a couple of scenes, though. Two or three leading up to The Birth and then The Birth. Which I'm still nervous about, but thanks to you lovely ladies, I'm not AS nervous as I was before. You guys rock, I ever tell you that?

I have every intention on finishing this thing up tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Also, E. Elle was sweet enough to give me an award last month (I know, I know -- last MONTH!). I'm passing it on today.

The rules:
1. Five recipients
2. Make up something about the people you give the award to. (Yep, this is the fun part!)
3. Link to the people who you give it to.
4. Link back to the original award post.





1. Erin at Apropos of Nothing, just quit her job as a glorified secretary to chase down her dream of becoming Jessica Simpson's Best Friend. CaCee, watch your back!
2. Jeanie at Genie of the Shell is hard at work on her fairy tale novel -- and her mission to prove that The Grimm Brothers were actually hired by a sexist, futuristic government to give women a bad name.
3. Write Chick at Spin Me Write Round actually thinks that Writer's Butt is a good thing!
4. Rebecca at Diary of a Virgin Novelist was driven insane by her current WiP and spent yesterday rolling around in the mud -- and attempted to drag us down with her! It's okay, Rebecca -- mud baths are supposed to be good for the skin!
5. Lauren at Embrace the Detour is a self-proclaimed loser and has, on more than one occasion, lost her mind. Her second home is a lovely padded room in LooneyBin Acres.

Thanks again, Elle! I hope I didn't offend any of the awesome ladies I passed the award on to!

I'm Not Crazy (I'm Just a Little Unwell)

Okay, don't you think it's about time I got off my slacker butt and did some honest to goodness blogging? I mean, I flake two weeks in a row on my Wanderlust Wednesdays, and I finished Don't Look Down two weeks ago and haven't written a review for it. Just what is my problem?

The problem, you see, is that my main character and her male lead won't cooperate with me. They want to get all willy nilly with my plot, preferring to argue with each other rather than make nice. Or vice versa. It seems whatever I have planned, they have to do the exact opposite. And frankly, it's driving me insane.

I would just love to throw these two in a room together and lock the door. Tell them they can't come out until they've agreed to cooperate with my wishes. The only problem is, they're fictional figments of my imagination.

Argh!

This is the very trait that gives outsiders the impression that we're insane. We hear voices and argue with them. We get angry and frustrated when these imaginary people won't do as they're told. "Well, they're your characters, why don't you just make them do it?" people ask. And to them, I say, "HA!"

No, make that "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!"

If only they knew, right? If only they knew.

I'm at my wit's end here. I should have finished this novel months ago, but still it drags on. All because Mari and Zander would rather fight like a couple of blue-haired old women in the beauty salon than kiss and make up. So, what do you do when your characters go rogue on you? When they just. Won't. Do. As. They're. Told?

PS: Sorry if I got Matchbox Twenty stuck in your head with my title. Could be worse, right?