2009 has been a flurry of conferences, outside opportunities (i.e. non-writing work), sick family members and things I keep forgetting. I find myself dreaming of an author's getaway. A little hotel room. No internet, no kids, nothing but me and my current WIP. Unfortunately, neither my finances nor my life are suited for such luxuries.
I sure could us it, though. Discovery is giving me fits. I have made one important discovery with it: re-writing a NaNoWriMo draft is not as easy as it looks.
I loved this story when I wrote it in the flurry of a November. I still love the idea, and some of the scenes are terrific. However, I'm finding that there's waaaay too much talking, explaining, rehashing... A couple of the characters have told me their motivations, but like bad actors, appear cardboard in the text.
So the process has literally been write a great scene, rip out a bad one. In four months, I've only progressed 10,000 words. (Consider my usual modus operandi is to write a complete novel in 6 weeks.) I approach the document with dread and moan or snarl as I read the stuff I thought was so clever only three years ago.
So why am I bothering? Why put off my DragonEye novels (GapMan, and Damsels and Knights) to do this? Because there's a story in there--a great story. A story about finding love that transcends romance and living a good life that does more than follow the rules. Sister Rita and James, Chris and Andy, Sister Ann and Sister Tommie are wonderful characters. I want to tell their story.
Wish I could get them all alone in a hotel for a week so we could hammer it out. But it looks like I'll just have to take it one scene at a time.
Magic, Mensa and Mayhem update: Got the colored in cover art. Vern is the wrong color, so I sent a picture of the shades I imagined.
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