A Sigh Of Relief

At the time of writing this, I am hoping that my journey through the editing process has been completed - I stress the word hoping.

It took just under ten days in total, and my initial fear that my written work would become an unrecognizable heap of words, were quelled immediately. I drew in, and out, a deep sigh of relief! Primarily, the most that needed to be done was grammatical and the mechanics of some sentence structures needed tweaking. The story is still intact, if not better...in my opinion.

By grammatical, I mean those annoying and confusing semi-colons. Some people hate them, some love them, teachers drone on about them, MS Word just confuses you... Sigh. It is safe to say that whatever you learned at school during English class, or what you thought you learned, can be tossed right out the window. It seems the use of semi-colons, now, are as outdated and unpopular as bad eggs. My editor forwarded me some very handy sites where I could peruse away on the proper use of semi-colons. Strange, it still looked like the same thing I learned at school, so I didn't feel too bad. Yet, I noticed that the plain and simple coma is much preferred these days...

It's a never-ending learning process, it would seem.

Some sentences, in my enthusiasm to tell my story, appeared or was 'sketchy' or left you to wonder "what then?" So, those were duly noted for me to elaborate on, or re-write, so that the reader would not be left to ponder. Other areas/sentences were a little unclear, so I had to re-word it so it made some sense.

Point of view issues were scattered throughout the book and obediently corrected. I was enlightened, to say the least. I forget sometimes that I can't know what the other person is thinking, especially if I am the person telling the story from my point of view - I can merely observe that they looked irritated. Nor can I tell that my face looked worried by what the other person said because I really can't see my own face unless I kept looking at a mirror. I can merely state that I felt worried and noticed that the other person seemed to see it too on my face. As I stated before, in my enthusiasm to tell the tale, sometimes, I forget myself.

A few parts were moved from one chapter to another, mostly to make use of the topic that was being discussed, and therefore it would not clog the first chapter with unnecessary information. Can't have the potential reader falling asleep because I took too long to explain something, then prattled on about other things that really didn't have any point being there in the first place.

And that, basically, was it.

My imagined ordeal with the editing process, was thankfully, just in my imagination. I am so glad they are people out there called editors. I suppose, if my imagined ordeal was not so pleasant, I'd think differently. But as it is, mine was a very eye-opening and pleasant experience.

Now, I've more things to remember for the future books.

My brain is becoming quite crammed...

Editing...

It's been a while since I last posted something - I've been distracted with waiting. But the wait is finally over - my edited version has come to me and I am knee-deep in it.

It's not as bad as I thought it would be. The obvious grammatical errors and sentence structures, those annoying semi-colons and the correct placement of them, and a few parts where I tended to blather on about something that really didn't need much blathering.

Once I have completed the editing process, I promise to elaborate some more...

The Year Comes To An End - Already

I simply cannot believe that this year has zoomed by so quickly. As I sit here and review the year, the usual questions fill my mind: Have I accomplished everything I wanted to this year? Is my checklist for things-to-do complete? Can I knock off work and get into the Christmas spirit and head for the chilling wine in the fridge? Of course I can - there's always time for wine...what am I even saying?

I'm sure that everyone does the same thing. If not, then I am the only idiot that does - make checklists, that is - and New Year's resolutions still hold fast in my mind like a mother's scathing words.

For me, my main objective this year was as to get published. And, mission accomplished! My biggest goal achieved and realized, so the rest of the checklist pretty much took care of itself. Not. Checklists are never completed and never over. Like mobile phone minutes, they rollover into the next year.

This year, I made a bargain with myself. If I did not get published by the time I hit forty, then I'd better pack it up for the time being and try again in about five years - or think seriously about calling it quits and come to the realization that writing really isn't for me after all. What a sucky thought, but, let's be practical here: sometimes, there really is just that one wonder of sliced bread and the rest of us have no choice but to be happy with our lot and eat it.

As the time drew near for my impending 'coming of age' celebrations, the crunch was on...like a certain gritted teethed desperation and that underlying hum of a constant and ever-emphatic cuss-fest as I crossed out another day, week, month of being unpublished. To put it bluntly, the words 'fucking-hell' (and varying variants) became my new best friend. My outlook was not looking too bright.

And, then, one day, the good news comes in, clinging right on the heels - weeks, really - before my 'coming of age' debut. Life is brilliant once more, the heart feels light and nothing that happens after that is wrong, ugly or intolerable. Like the appliances, Life's Good!

So, as I rewind the year that's come to pass, I can honestly say that this year, out of a lot of previously disappointing years: I have achieved something! And isn't it amazing how with achievement, you feel inspired? Truly inspired! Not just creatively, but generally speaking. The motivation for striving forward is sparked and nothing can stop you now. However, when writer's block hits you full in the face like a brick wall and you're back, flat on your ass, moaning about how life sucks, the world can be a mean old bastard.

Speaking of which, I am inflicted with that condition once again. The Eternal Knot is proving to be a very challenging story to tell. I know what I want to say, it's just the 'getting there' that's flinging all sorts of obstacles my way. Maybe its the fact that I know it's the last in the trilogy and breaking up is hard to do...maybe.

Maybe its just Christmas and there's so many things to do that my mind is full of food, drink and good company - including creating a new checklist with the said rollover minutes from this year...

Here's to a Merry Christmas and the very best for 2010 !!!

Gazing At The Ceiling

October is nearly done and I am still waiting patiently in a state of limbo. And, as things in limbo usually go, I find myself once again with an utterly blank mind.

Book three, The Eternal Knot, is complete only in my head - in various bulleted points. It's the in-between fillers that has me stumped. I am precisely halfway through, and being in that position is a lot like being in limbo: you are neither here nor there. And I think the main reason is that in the back of my mind, I'm still wondering what Book One - The Lancaster Rule - is up to.

Yes, it is still with the editor's being hacked to pieces (only in my imagination, of course...I hope) and its like waiting for a condemning verdict to be announced. All other thoughts get pushed out the way as you try your best to ignore the inevitable. At some point soon, I will hear from Them and I will no doubt be spending the majority of my time carefully combing through my manuscript with growing angst as I bend to their wishes...so to speak. I am being dramatic of course, but with nothing else to think about or work on constructively, the imagination is allowed to roam free with varying scenarios of doom.

Being a fastidious perfectionist doesn't help matters either. Knowing there's unfinished business to be dealt with seems to only add to the havoc caused by my lack of inspiration. It's like having your ass flapping in the wind when you've got a few more rungs to climb before you get to the top - its very distracting. Hence the reason for my sitting for hours in front the computer either playing one senseless game after another or gazing hopelessly at the ceiling looking for some scrap of inspiration. So far, I've discovered a secret stash of cobwebs, a few cracks I am sure were never there and that, yes, dust does seem to exist between the cracks in the wooden slats - upside-down. Amazing. Oh, and flies love to poo practically everywhere!

And then, another day passes and I start the whole process all over again tomorrow. What a stressful life I lead...

Try not to laugh too hard to that last comment.

What is even more distracting is that once my editing process is complete and I move on to the next phase in my goal to become the next bestseller, I plan on submitting Book Two - The Master Key - and I'll have to go through the entire process all over again.

Oh, joy!