I finished my first novel about two years ago. I had a professional editor look at it, cried as I cut away the fat, and trimmed it up to a respectable manuscript. Then, I started vying for literary agents, presenting my lovely novel with my first query letter, then a shiny new improved one when … More Going Back to Basics
So I have finished my third draft. My beta reader (aka my long suffering older sister) has finally finished it and given me the last few tweaks. After this, I think I’ll have it ready to go. I’m sorta slightly terrified. I’ve been working on this thing for so long that it doesn’t feel real. … More It’s the Final Countdown (Doodle Ooo Doo)
It’s the beginning of May now. I had hoped to be finished with my third draft at the end of April. Sadly, that is not the case. I do have to factor in how it was finals week, that I’m officially graduating from grad school (!!!), and that I recently quit my job (!!!). All … More How Life Happens and Mucks Up Your To-Do List
I have officially sent off my manuscript to a professional editor, a creative writing professor and friend of my sister’s (thanks, Cari!). Now that it’s sent, I’m almost not sure what to do with myself. I have three or so other novels that I need to outline, setting up scenes like stills from a cinematic … More The Query Letter and Not Sounding Like an Egoist
After three months of dragging my feet, weeping at deleted passages, and drowning in grammatical errors, I have finally finished the second draft of my novel. It stands at 98,330 words and it’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. You know what this means? I am one step closer to actually being … More Cue Hallelujah Chorus and Grab a Box of Wine!
I woke up this morning, discovered it was April, and promptly flattened my face into the pillow. Seriously, Time, can’t a girl catch a break? I’ve been rambling forward for weeks now, a zombie only surviving through caffeine and Archer reruns as I balance school and work and editing this 200 page manuscript that really … More Of Deadlines and the Undead
Halfway through the second draft of The Midnight Tide. I tend to be overly lyrical with my description, and run-on sentences are littered throughout my prose. It’s been cathartic to cut them down (though it hurts my soul to do so) because I recognize that it’s easy to get lost among the adverbs and the adjectives and … More Overusing Commas and Other Editing Woes
