The other day, Sonje pointed out that I haven’t talked much about my manuscript or what I’m doing with it these days. The answer: Editing.
Unfortunately, I am the tortoise to her hare. While I have been plodding through the swamp of my first draft, trying to firm up the ground so that readers will have someplace to stand rather than sink, Sonje has proofed 3 out of her 4 Detective Series novels and published them on Amazon. CHASING, ECHOES, and LANDSLIDE are all available for Kindle, with the final book to follow soon. I had the privilege of beta-reading these awhile ago, and let me tell you that they were a blast! If you like snark, sex, and mystery, then Oz is definitely the lesbian private eye for you.
Other than editing, the truth is that I haven’t been up to much. My life is fairly boring — and I mean that in a good way. (God I hope I’m not jinxing this…) My days have a rhythm, a stability that I appreciate. I meet with the We Heart YA girls every week, and Facetime with Erin, and call my folks, and watch sports with Andy, and email my friends, and eat, and read, and go for walks, and sleep. This is essentially what I want the rest of my life to look like — except with someone paying me for my writing, lol. Hopefully I can make that happen sooner rather than later.
Sure, I have stresses and concerns. We all do. And occasionally mine gang up on me and manage to get me down. Thankfully I have a good support network to help me push back up to my feet. I’m never too low for too long.
So anyway, if you don’t hear much about my writing, that’s why. It’s just not interesting to blog about. “I spent a day revising Chapter 6, with a net loss of 97 words. Then I spent another day revising Chapter 7, with a net gain of 14 words. Then I had to go back to Chapter 4, because I forgot to take out…” Blah blah blah you get the point.
There’s a reason you don’t see reality shows about writers. Our daily lives are often dull. We save all the drama and excitement for the page.
15 responses to “What I’ve been up to”
Now I want to see a Writer’s Survivor. The possibilities are endless.
LOL yeah sometimes I don’t know what to write about either. I spend most of my time at home or in my head. It’s not all that interesting. Dear diary, today I wrote 100 words. It was just like yesterday. The end.
I always find myself in a similar position when it comes to blogging about the editing process. It’s so much easier – and more fun, I think – with writing. My MC had an epiphany today! My manuscript went in a new direction! I’m so excited about how everything’s tying together! And so on …
But as we’ve talked about, the editing process is every bit as important, just maybe on a quieter scale. Like the tortoise, though, slow and steady always crosses the finish line and finds a new goal. That’s what matters! :)
Yes, well, I have a very strong feeling that you’ll have the last laugh when it’s all said and done…
A reality show about writers of fiction – isn’t that an oxymoron? :-)come to think of it though most reality showa ARE pure fiction…
Keep up the good work with the editing – not nice, I know, but necessary.
I’ll be in the same boat pretty soon. This spring has been all “more written on Stevie One, got more done on Stevie One, posted part six of Stevie One,” but when the story is over I think it will be back to wandering through the drafts of my third novel, trying to make it all fit together (or breaking it apart into several separate projects — an idea I had recently), and going through beta comments on my mystery story book. Those are the sorts of projects where weekly progress reports can be pretty uninteresting.
Editing is hard, so yay to you! I know how hard to process can be and everyone has their own pace. And don’t you forget that you’ve finished a draft of a book. A BOOK! That’s huge and now you’re working toward your next goal. Go, go, go! :)
Editing is the hardest part. Great job on staying focused and on the ball. I can’t wait to read the novel. YOU ROCK.
I always have to explain to people who look at my uneventful life with pity, it’s not boring inside my head.
Editing, hmmm. We don’t do that in the appellate world. Although I’m sure the court clerks that have to read our treatises wish we did.
I need fun novels for an upcoming trip. (To your alma mater, in fact.) Is there a place to find Sonje’s novels for a sony e-reader?
It had seemed quiet on your end. Glad you’re passing your days nicely and getting some editing done. It’s just proof that you’re a good writer — I’d be writing chapter-long blog posts if I were in the editing phase. Anything to put off the dreaded revisions. I hate editing.
Ooh, how awesome that you’re already living the life you want! That’s great — I’m envious. I still have no idea what I want my life to be like, and although I love the idea of settling in to a rhythmic routine, I seem to have a difficult time putting it into actual practice. Still, I’m enjoying myself, despite making NO headway whatsoever on any writing projects, lol. I think your list of “boring” updates help me see that writing is really one tiny step after another, and I should stop being paralyzed by the seemingly impossible task.
Ugh editing is really tough. I’m working on a really small book with my friend but it’s harder than I though it would be but its worth the patience. You’ll get there!
Thanks, everyone!
Ben-
I doubt if writers would last long in the wild. We’d be too busy recording our thoughts and impressions to notice the dangers lurking around every corner.
T.S.-
LOL! Exactly.
Sonje-
Not sure what you mean by that… But I realized later that the hare and tortoise comparison makes it sound like we’re competing, which we’re totally not! It was just the speed I was getting at. :P
Martin-
Yes, the irony is ripe. :P
Julia-
“I always have to explain to people who look at my uneventful life with pity, it’s not boring inside my head.” – LOL YES! I love that.
Sadly Sonje’s books are not yet available for Sony, but I believe that’s coming…
Linda-
“Think less, do more.” That’s a motto I often have to remind myself of in order to get anything done. Because it’s the thinking that makes something daunting, not the thing itself. :P
And yes, I’m very lucky to be living the life I want. (So so so so so so so so SO lucky!) BUT. It’s only sustainable if I can turn it into a career. So it’s not without its pressures…
It’s fun to hear what you’ve been up to, even if it seems boring to you. How long has it been since you quit your job? Do you plan to go back to work at some point, or continue to write full time?
Meghan-
About a year and a half. I would LIKE to continue to write full-time, but there are a number of factors that would have to fall into place for that to work out. There’s no countdown for me right now — no deadline by which I must have an agent or a book deal — but I don’t have infinity either.