It Amazes Me

It really does. How things actually do get done if you just settle down with yourself and slowly chink away at them.

I am pleased to announce that I have just completed the Second Draft of my novel, Ever After. It's taken a few months but now it's done. And yes, I rewrote EVERY single chapter.

What I also find pleasing, is the improvement in my writing. The flow is better, there is more showing instead of telling, and I'm getting more and more into the private feelings of each character and finding innovative ways to communicate them to the reader.

I am also pleased with the new shape of the story. I moved several scenes around. I even deleted the sex scene. I was worried this would shorten up the story too much, but in the end I've ended up with 10 000 EXTRA words than I had to start with.

Now, I'm not saying it's a finished product, but I am done the full rewrites. I need to tweak the first three chapters and get them in really good shape. And I need to wrestle my synopsis into a stellar piece of writing.

But my deadline for submission is Oct 15th.

I will be going to the mailbox on that day. And then it will be up to the writing gods.

(Or a couple of editors.)

And on another note, I have received back the results from two contests I entered the story in.

In one I placed sixth out of 11, and the other I had very high scores, but which suggested the manuscript needed a bit more polish before going off to the publisher.

I totally agreed. I must be on the right track, because the judges didn't really tell me anything I wasn't already aware of. I think this is a good sign.

I've got one more contest to hear back from which should be sometime in early November.

So keep your fingers crossed for me.

Now I'm going to read some Patricia Cornwell.

MJ