Sorry for the delay in this blog. I have been wiping my brow, cursing the editors, seeing the ground a little too close as my celebration balloon of finishing a 327 page novel is leaking air.
I am on revision #6 of Bitter Sugar. This is not unusual, I have found. Some writers actually have twenty to thirty revisions. Makes me a lightweight. Although, I feel a little like the subject of Norwegian Edvard Munch’s 1893 painting titled The Scream. Drinking wine helps.
Typing “The End” is in reality only the beginning. Most of the editorial comments are right on. This character needs more developing, this scene needs more description, watch the similes and metaphors. Is this reaction realistic? Would this character actually do or say this? Did muffalettas exist in 1860? The answer is no, so despite the gnashing of teeth I have taken the advice of writing coaches whose mantra seems to be “kill your darlings” and deleted that reference. Thank goodness the largest solar flare ever recorded that produced Northern lights seen from the Arctic Circle to the equator on September 2, 1859 stays in the manuscript. Makes a nice backdrop for a love scene. Nevertheless, despite research ad nauseum, seems there is always a mistake or some confusion to clarify. Writing is not for the faint of heart or people with fragile egos.
So, here I go with my polishing cloth. Just when you think that jet is polished to perfection, you find some flaw which demands attention and cannot be ignored, lest it fall from the sky and the author from grace.
Sorry for the delay in this blog. I have been wiping my brow, cursing the editors, seeing the ground a little too close as my celebration balloon of finishing a 327 page novel is leaking air.
I am on revision #6 of Bitter Sugar. This is not unusual, I have found. Some writers actually have twenty to thirty revisions. Makes me a lightweight. Although, I feel a little like the subject of Norwegian Edvard Munch’s 1893 painting titled The Scream. Drinking wine helps.
Typing “The End” is in reality only the beginning. Most of the editorial comments are right on. This character needs more developing, this scene needs more description, watch the similes and metaphors. Is this reaction realistic? Would this character actually do or say this? Did muffalettas exist in 1860? The answer is no, so despite the gnashing of teeth I have taken the advice of writing coaches whose mantra seems to be “kill your darlings” and deleted that reference. Thank goodness the largest solar flare ever recorded that produced Northern lights seen from the Arctic Circle to the equator on September 2, 1859 stays in the manuscript. Makes a nice backdrop for a love scene. Nevertheless, despite research ad nauseum, seems there is always a mistake or some confusion to clarify. Writing is not for the faint of heart or people with fragile egos.
So, here I go with my polishing cloth. Just when you think that jet is polished to perfection, you find some flaw which demands attention and cannot be ignored, lest it fall from the sky and the author from grace.
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