Novel thoughts

I've had a few emails asking me what's going on with my novel. Well, it's progressing.

I tried to rush to the finish before Christmas, just to get it done before going on vacation, but that didn't work. It felt very rushed and like I was just trying to cram as many plot points as possible in. I figured taking a break after the vacation might help, but it just threw me off where I was going. When I tried to resume where I left off, I couldn't get into it.

So, a new plan of attack. I decided to start editing what I had already written to get back into the right frame of mind. Also, I did some research and several publishers don't want the whole book. They want the first three or four chapters, along with a business plan and resume. So I spent the last couple of weeks polishing the first four chapters and prologue. That includes editing on screen and then printing off a copy to look at.

I never cease to be amazed at how much crap you find wrong when you print off a hard copy to look at. I don't understand why it makes a difference, but it does. And it's really depressing. You think you've got most of the bugs out and then you look at the hard copy and there are errors littered everywhere.

Those revised chapters are now in the hands of several friends. Each of them offers a different perspective that I need. Either as an outsider, a journalist, grammar nazi, book publisher experinece, etc. Once I get their feedback, I'll look at what other changes need to be made. And then I'll send it off to some selective publishers.

In the meantime, I'll keep hacking away at the rest of the book and trying to get it into shape.

But I haven't given up on it. Perhaps it's ego, but I think there's a half decent book in there somewhere. I've already heard back from one of my friends, who raved. And yeah, she's a friend. But if it was really awful, I like to think she'd tell me. Lord knows she never hesitated in the past to let me know when my writing was bad. So there's hope.

Last Five
1. Maneater - Hall and Oates
2. Emergency Roadside Assistance - Sean Panting*
3. Ankle deep - Tom Petty
4. The old main drag - The Pogues
5. C'mere - Interpol