Scene of the Scene…

I need to hike my lazy behind down to the Riverfront today and sit underneath the St. Louis Gateway Arch. I am re-writing the first 100 pages or so of Vessel of Dreams (i.e., the book I plan to submit to Luna shortly) and one of my first readers commented on the fact that she didn’t really get a sense of place in the first couple of chapters. The book is an urban fantasy and starts out in St. Louis before moving to the Boston/Salem, Massachusetts area. One of the new scenes I have come up with to remedy this problem requires that I hike from work to the Arch at lunch so I can get an authentic sense of what my character would be seeing and experiencing. I have decided not to trust vague, fuzzy memories. Anything for authenticity! 😉

So yes, I am still plugging away at these rewrites. I have made a tentative goal to submit to Luna by the time of my birthday, which is October 22nd. The great and wonderful mizkit_feed has helped motivate me to make that goal a reality. She encourages me to finish the rewrites, but if I can’t finish them by the 22nd to just go ahead and submit a partial to Luna. I think that’s an excellent idea and I know I can have the first 3 chapters polished to a sheen by then if nothing else. Though obviously I will work as hard as I can to make sure I finish the entire rewrite stage by then.

I am looking forward to taking my sandwich and banana down to the Riverfront and sitting on the grass, just soaking in the nice weather and the atmosphere. Taking in the scene of the scene, so to speak. And then, of course, putting that scene to paper and knocking down one of the few remaining extensive rewrites needed before going on to the more cosmetic revisions. It’s a good thing I feel so creative!

Blah…

Had an entry all typed up and then the Internet decided to eat it. I usually copy text periodically in entries to make sure I don’t lose it, but not this time. The long and short of it is I’m developing a migraine right now. I’ll post again later once I get over being pissy about losing the entry…

Bring on the Re-writes…

Let me at ’em, let me at ’em! *Best Cowardly Lion Imitation* So I actually got quite a lot accomplished last night on my rewrite of VoD (Vessel of Dreams). The totally re-written chapter 1 is nearly complete, so I just have to re-work about half of chapter 2 and then fill in the plot holes my husband found. And then, of course, attend to whatever comments my Beta readers make. Piece of…er…cake?

You bet!

I hope to finish all major re-writes on or before Saturday. Number One, make it so!

Go Back to New York, Rudy!!!

Blah. Apparently Guiliani is speaking at the neighborhood convention center in St. Louis, which snarled traffic something fierce today. After we got downtown and to a certain bridge and moved maybe 5 feet in 20 minutes, the three of us on the bus decided to hop off, walk to the train station, and take the Metrolink the rest of the way to work. So after walking, waiting, and walking again in a long-sleeved black shirt in St. Louis humidity, I finally got to work almost 40 minutes late. Had I waited on the bus, though, I might still be on that bridge!!!

Ah well. Inhale the good. Exhale the bad. Inhale the good. Impale the bad…er, wait, that’s not right…

***

I must confess, I did not accomplish anything on the revisions for my Luna book last night. Instead, I sat in on a Luna chat held in honor of Caitlin Brennan and her book The Mountain’s Call. Fabulous book and she seems a very charming lady. She has a lifejournal under the userid dancinghorse, if you care to check it out. I highly recommend the book! =) I enjoyed chatting with all the ladies who hang out at Luna, especially Christie Golden, who wrote the Luna book On Fire’s Wings. I also highly recommend that book. Very good!

I really hope to get more done on the revisions tonight. I am excited with how they are going, and I really think this book has a shot at publication. I think it’s a perfect fit for Luna, though I’m trying not to get my hopes up TOO much!

Tough (But Necessary) Love…

Just like most mothers, Booksquare gives us some hard-to-hear but very valuable advice. Go, read, reflect–but, most importantly, be enlightened! Assuming that you’ve not yet learned the cold hard truth. Publishing, my friends, is a business. And, as with any other business, money (and sales figures) talks.

***

And there was much rejoicing, for She Who Rambles (i.e., moi) had finished the wondrous goodness that was her Novel’s Second Draft. Not to be confused with the much less wondrous but equally good First Draft. And which, of course, will not hold a candle to her Novel’s Final Draft.

First, of course, I have to get from Here to There. Which my intrepid First Reader (my wonderful husband) assures me is fast-paced and intriguing–once you get past the first 100 pages. Eek! I suspected that, I just wasn’t sure exactly how to fix what was wrong in the first couple of chapters. But after discussing it with First Reader I now have a solid plan for fixing what is wrong. Unfortunately, the first and maybe second chapter must go under the knife. Yes, a total lobotomy is in order! Ah well, I already feel much better about the beginning of the novel, and I’ve only re-written the first few pages so far.

First Reader also pointed out a few plot holes. Break out the shovels folks–it’s time to start filling them in!

I can’t wait to see what my Beta Readers have in store for me. And I only mean that half-sarcastically. As much as my Writer’s Ego doesn’t like to recognize that She is not, in fact, All-Seeing and All-Knowing, the rest of me knows that the novel is going to be much stronger for having others I trust going over it with a fine-tooth comb–or ten.

Labor of Love – Just Not the One I Planned…

I feverishly participated in the Labor of Love Weekend, just not in the way I had anticipated. On Saturday I decided to print out the Novel I intend to submit to Luna shortly (The Vessel). I ran out of ink halfway through so had to wait for hubby to get home, then we ran to buy more ink and paper and finished printing. By the time that was done, I didn’t feel like writing anything so I didn’t.

Sunday morning I woke up and was hit by the sudden and inescapable urge to revise The Vessel. So, rather than writing 10,000 words on my new project (tentatively titled Golden Silence), I gathered up my writing materials and discman and headed out to Borders to start revising The Vessel. I made the decision to flee the apartment after I kept getting distracted by the television and Internet at home. It turned out to be the wisest thing I could have done as I got a TON of revising down at Borders and then, later, the food court at a nearby mall. Thank God for headphones and good music!

Monday morning I woke up and snuck out of the apartment before hubby woke up. He hadn’t slept well the night before so I left him a note and let him sleep in. I went to the St. Louis Bread Co. (which in other areas is called Panera – I think they bought out STBC but didn’t change the name), ate breakfast, and revised my little fingers off. After a few hours I headed to Steak N Shake to eat lunch and revise some more. A couple hours after THAT I ended up at Krispy Kreme, where I finished out the day revising. I place-hopped so that I could figure out which places I liked best, and so as not to annoy the nice employees by taking up tables for TOO long. =)

After that I grabbed a pizza and took it home to hubby and we watched some more episodes of Farscape (which we are re-watching in anticipation of the upcoming miniseries on Sci Fi). Then I inputted the first 100 pages of revisions/added scenes, and plan to put in the remaining 400 pages tonight, time permitting. And THEN it goes out to my first round of readers! Hopefully one more major set of revisions, and then this baby can go out the door to Luna!

Sooo, yes, I wrote at LEAST 10,000 words over the weekend–just not on the project I had planned!

Worldcon’s in the Air…

…but alas, not for me. 😦 Ah well, I am fairly sure that I wouldn’t want my first con experience to be quite so…overwhelming. It’s a shame I only lived in Boston for a year, though. I could have gone to the DNC AND Worldcon all in the same year if I were still there! *grin*

I am feeling much better now, thank you, although still rather tired. I am also ready and raring to go with my new book for the LJ Labor of Love challenge this weekend. I’ve done just enough world-building to get started without there being too much info for me to wade through. I am also ready to start revising my Luna book but I may hold off on that until after the LOL this weekend. I guess it just depends upon how well the new project flows.

At any rate, hopefully I will be able to come up with some interesting Ramblings this weekend as opposed to just boring diary type entries. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I always feel like I’m boring others to tears. My life, after all, isn’t particularly interesting! Not yet, anyway…