I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to all those who’ve supported my effort to get my memoir published. I’ve received the manuscript back from my proofer and have incorporated the latest changes. Most significantly, I have both the hook and mini-synopsis with zero ambiguity. Cheers!
Now the real work begins.
Got room to add in some additional flavor.
Proofer says the Pierrepont section needs some work. The good news is that her comments have led me to a solution and I’ve already fixed one issue. Got some kneading to do on another chapter but the changes are minimal. Cool!
Looking to the future and trying to decide what project I will tackle next. I’d really like to get my space opera done, now that I’ve had enough time to rethink a few things going on with it. I may go ahead and split it into three parts and see where that takes me.
I had times when I wanted a character to do one thing and they ended up leading the story off in their own direction. Frustrating, yes, but ultimately really good – that character was alive. That’s the sort of thing that makes writing exciting.
Or I may do something else entirely…
OTHAFA has been handed off to my proof reader. I’ve already gotten some preliminary results and they are very positive. “This is really good,” she says. I’ll take that!
I finished the preliminary rough draft this evening. There are still a few minor issues I’d like to address, but this version tells the story I want to tell. Will still need editing, but on a level beyond me. Fingers crossed.
Could it be I’m really nearing the end this time?
I have completed rewriting one of two Alaska chapters, in rough draft only at the moment, and I think I’ve done it. I managed to refocus the story perfectly.
As a bonus, I didnt’ lose words along the way even if I lost concepts and scenes – I found new material to use that actually worked better than the original.
And now I think I’ve figured out the second of the Alaska chapters that not only allows me to use an existing chunk of detail I was about to cut (I have to cut it down some but that’s a good thing) but really drives home the main points I was trying to make.
There are a couple of other changes in the main text I still have to take care of, but they will link back to the Alaska chapters and help thread things together. Outstanding.
I’ve decided to tear the Alaska chapter to shreds and start over. Why? It’s just too critical a chapter to leave it to the minor edits I had going.
I thought I knew what I needed to do with it and thought I’d fixed it. But when I reviewed it I was not happy at all. So I stepped back, put things into perspective, and asked myself what was so critical about this chapter that I wasn’t getting? The answer has since come to me – I know what the layout needs to be but I have yet to find all the words. At the moment, words are coming in dribs and drabs, and not all of them are any good. I’ve managed only to get the opening of the chapter down and now have hit a wall.
Maybe tomorrow will be better, or even later tonight. Too much on my mind to worry about it right at this moment.
Thanks, James, for nudging me with your wisdom – it’s always a pleasure to hear you speak. My latest efforts have taken an interesting turn (though I have yet to write a single word). I struggled with finding a way forward that would have speaking out of both sides of the mouth make sense. I think I’ve found that way, so cheers and all the best.
I’ve decided to split Chapter 1 into two chapters (at least for now) and rewrite the second half. I wasn’t happy with the level of detail and the emphasis on a particular aspect of the story and lack of detail on another, equally important one. The writing is also currently inconsistent with the rest of the book, so some rewriting is necessary.
Now, what to keep, what to cut, and what to add? I’ve got a few ideas. Hope to have the new draft by Monday. We’ll see…
