Editing Nightmares

Wow. They really shouldn't tell me the last time I posted a post on here. 'Cause that makes me all depressed to see it was last year! Wow. Clearly, blog posting is not my forte. But today, I am here to make a point and I am going to slam it home HARD.

I cannot stand to edit. To go back through a manuscript and change sentences, add words, eliminate entire paragraphs. Do you know why? Well, I will tell you. It makes me feel like a terrible writer. I can't tell you the number of times I scratch my head (metaphorically) and say, "Gee. Why did I ever think that was a good idea? How could I have ever thought it'd be great to make her do that?"

And then there are the times my characters run away from me. I'm writing and editing and writing and editing and then all of a sudden, my main character is leaving work and she NEVER EVEN HAD A JOB!! And this is like chapter fifteen. So now I have to edit from the top again and make it clear she had a job all along and didn't just randomly pick one up one day because she felt like it. The whole time this is happening, I am sitting in my dorm room, staring at my computer, and yelling "Why would you do that? Stop doing that! Get back under my control!" That might be why people wonder if I'm nuts. To which I say - yes. I am nuts. I am a writer. How can I be anything but?

Back to editing. I've just now finished editing my YA chick lit novel, Oh Boyfriend, Where Art Thou? for maybe the third time. By editing, I mean going chapter-by-chapter, with Track Changes on, and skewering entire passages with the wrath of Michelle. It was intense. I just finished and the final (revised) product is about 15 pages longer than the original.

Editing stinks. It's hard work and hassle and can be really, truly irritating. Only now, when I look at this final product (that still needs some work to explain why the main character randomly begins doing things mid-book that she hadn't done before) do I realize that editing really has made my book much, much better.

Now I think I'll go edit a fourth time...oh, joy.

Building Blocks.

Interesting blog title, eh? Building blocks. It can mean so many things. Wanna know where I got the title? From my hot chocolate mug that has the name of my preschool ministry on it: Building Blocks. But it applies here as well.

Building blocks and baby steps pretty much go hand in hand. You can't have the completed castle before you build it and you can't run before you walk. It's a common-known fact. Today's blog post will be short.

I'm ready to be published. Like, right now, I'd love to see my book on the Bestseller list and see it in the paper or whatever. I've wanted to be published for a long time. But now I'm learning to walk before I run.

Last time I pitched a novel - my military novel Willing to Die, my author bio was kind of crappy. I had little to no writing credits and so I was pretty much trying to run before I walked. Now, this time around, I'm walking first. My author bio looks pretty tight now with a good many writing credits. Biography in a nonfiction compilation, assistant editor of DevoKids, Honorable Mention in a national writing contest...I'm slowly padding my author biography and so I hope that that will help me to get published. Who knows?

The waiting for word back about my manuscripts is killing me but I'm surviving. Learning a lot about prayer and God's will and just waiting. Waiting stinks but I'm getting better at it!

Conference Woes

Went to a writer's conference this weekend and left all depressed-like. It was amazing, do not get me wrong, those of you shaking your heads at me and wondering if I'm on crack. The thing just depressed the snot out of me. Let me explain.

I learned a gazillion and one things. Like literally, a gazillion and one. How to change my middle from muddle to magnificent, how to creep out (and not creep out) an editor, how to make my characters set apart, etc. And it depressed me. Cause now I have so much work to do on my novel! Argh! My friend Beth and I spent Friday night on the way to my aunt's house reworking my novel. Which was great but now I've got a bunch of work to do. Oh well.

Another way the conference depressed me was that I went to this workshop class on your first page, led by an agent who read the first pages and commented on what was good/bad and whether or not she would want to read more. She must have read at least 15 first pages and all of them were good - in her opinion - and she would choose to read more! So if all those good first pages are out there, what makes mine any better? Why should I be the one who gets published? That depressed me to no end - even though I thought some of the first pages were kinda crappy. Anyway.

The conference did have some highlights - I met two wonderful women who were hilarious - Amy and Erin. They were super funny and it was a joy to meet them, even though the conference didn't give us much time for socializing. It was also nice to see that Beth and I weren't the only ones who skipped the morning Keynote and devotion...

So yes, now I see the sheer amount of work ahead of me but I also got some good feedback on my novel and I think I might have finally found my niche. Maybe. So now it's time to put the pedal to the metal, the fingers to the keyboard (insert more cliches here) and fix my novel!

Geez, I love conferences...

Let's get it started in here...

Today I attempt something new. Something I've not done before but something I am super excited about trying! Are you ready for it? You are? Sure? Ok, here goes nothin'.

I'm going to spend ALL DAY writing. Well, I'm going to the Miss NGU pageant tonight at 7 so maybe not all day but from now till about 5:30 or 6, I'm gonna be a-writin'.

I got the following all set out and ready to help me achieve greatness:

1) Ipod
2) Water
3) An easily accessible food drawer
4) Comfy clothes
5) Fleece blanket in case I get cold
6) Tylenol just in case
7) Idiot's Guide to Writing Christian Ficiton
8) Computer
9) A Voyager episode for breaks
10) A Star Wars book for breaks
11) My man journal for inspiration

And I am ready to go! So let the party begin! I'll keep you updated!

Michelle

Let the Good Times Roll!

Was it just yesterday that I heard all about how I needed to establish a name for myself, get something going so that I could have writing to back me up when I pitch? And not just, oh, yeah I'm working on two novels now, but something in publication. Wasn't that yesterday?

Oh, yes. It was. Shows how things can change in just one day.

Today I went to work - nothing new. Came back to school and headed to my 3 hour Recent America class - fun, fun. Anyway, we took notes on The Korean War and McCarthyism. Fun stuff. Could be worse. Anyway, then Dr. Cook starts talking about how he's asking some of his upper level students to write biographies for a book he's writing that will be PUBLISHED internationally. The biographies will be small but they will get your name in print. Should there be any pay at all, it will be minuscule. But, the plus side is that when I go to query agents, I can say I have been published in an internationally acclaimed and read book. So yay!

Ok, other piece of good news. I got a BRILLIANT idea for a new book today, and with the help of Rachel, Carrie Anne, Joanna and Audrey, it is going to be awesome!! I can't wait. It's a romance and it should be pretty stinkin' awesome. I am going to set a goal of 5 pages a day - we shall see how long that will last. Haha. Ok, I'm gonna go get started. Bye!

Michelle