Drawing from the Well
Chapters Edited: 4
Chapters to Edit: 3
I’m almost there. I’d probably be there if I had focused on the editing process, but I honestly got to my favorite part of the whole story. My favorite part USED to be at what is now the Second Pinch, but after the edit that let to Draft 6, I finally figured out how to make everything from the rest of the book culminate into my climax. The pacing and sentence structure FEELS like it’s building toward something and then the payoff begins. So instead of skipping from edit to edit, I’m reading every word and savoring it. I’m enjoying the ride I created. And that is a very good sign.
Filling the Well
That Hideous Strength: 57%
Elegy: Page 16 of 89
The Last Banquet of Temporal Confections: 75%
I saw yesterday that Last Banquet was nominated for a Hugo award for Best Novelette. I’m surprised to see it, but not surprised at its nomination. This little story is profound and moving. One other book that was nominated was The Only Harmless Great Thing. Now I see what qualifies a story for a Hugo. I’m glad I’m not picking between them because they’re both master works.
Polishing the Well
My wife’s best friend made her a carrot cake for her birthday and I finally went and got it last night. Let me tell you, it is delicious!
Well Chat
Enjoying the Process
Writing is creating. Creating is art. Art is love. Pure and simple. If you don’t love the act of creation, you shouldn’t create. Now, I’m not saying that creators don’t go through moments where they question themselves or hate what they’ve created or feel like they’re slogging through a swamp. We do. But those moments are just that: moments. They’re temporary. The love pushes us to get through those moments back to the more enjoyable parts.
Like endings.
I’m just a few chapters from the end and having gone through my manuscript again, I’m finding that I really do love it. There is a lot going on and it took a lot to get to this point in the story, but I’m so happy with it and proud of it. And that’s important.
When you clean your house, you typically don’t enjoy the process at first. You dread doing it. You put it off. One day, you finally decide, “That’s it! I’ve had enough! Let’s do this.” and you get to cleaning. You start off overwhelmed by how much there is to do so you pick an easy task, say, dusting. Knock out the dusting and that’s a little better so you vaccuum. The floor is good, but everything is messy so you pick up the trash and arrange decorations just so. Then you look at the kitchen. And so on.
Eventually you get to the last task and when you’re in it, you start to look around at everything you’ve already done. You’ve changed your perspective from “I have to do so much” to “I have DONE so much.” Pride and a sense of accomplishment fill and fuel you. You’re encouraged to barrel through the last task so you can look at the masterpiece of your cleaning. You actually enjoy the last chore and savor it.
That’s where I am with this. When I got my manuscript back nine days ago, I couldn’t even open the manuscript at first. It turned into Schrodinger’s Cat: as long as I didn’t open it, it was perfect, but I also could never put it out for publication. After a good night’s sleep, I popped it open and found far fewer comments and those were targeted. Things were in a much better state than I thought. I was emboldened and knocked out five chapters that first day. Then I slowed down for a few days, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of words still to edit.
And then on April 1, April Fool’s Day of all days, I hit a groove and was steaming through chapters like a train. Ten chapters more were behind me. I was past halfway, on the downhill slide. There were some difficult chapters in there with some true consideration required, but I kept going.
Now I approach The End. I’m so excited and yet still a little nervous for the next step: agent acquisition (which I will henceforth call agenting). But prep for that starts some time this weekend. For now, I’m savoring every word leading me to the climax and denoument of my story. It is everything I wanted it to be and I hope one day that readers will love it too.
Thanks for listening to my self-indulgent rant. Take this as advice to do your best to enjoy the ride of creation, but to also take moments to relish in your successes. In the dark times, in the failures, it’ll be the only fire to warm yourself with.
May the tide carry you to safer shores.
BSG