Jun
4

Blargh.

Posted in editing, random, updates | 2 Comments
This week has been a bit crazy as far as the emotional ups and downs go. (Some of which I’ve already extrapolated upon in the blog, and some of which will remain neatly private.) If I’ve been an insane grudgefuck of a girl to anyone out there this week, then I deeply apologize. Lord knows I went off on my kids last night, a fact for which I am not particularly proud. (We did make up afterwards, which was nice, but not really a position I wanted to be in.) I shall endeavor to be better next week. At any rate, I’ve been debating on the wisdom of a few things – my official author site is currently being developed – should hopefully be finished by the end of the month.  I’m trying to decide if I should just fold this blog into it, or keep it separate. Mostly because I’m feeling… Read more
May
20

Moving Right Along

Posted in editing, updates | 7 Comments
I printed out my manuscript today. I’m not sure why it is, but I seem to edit better when I’ve got the words on paper to look at. It’s a little more visceral to be holding that red pen, anyway – even if it’s a pita to haul around. I know there’s quite a few places that need polishing. When I dirty draft/edit like I have been, the use of certain phrases becomes pretty repetitive at times, and I can tell I’m overusing things like glance, gaze, smirk, snort, etc. Most of them I’m just going to take out, I think – otherwise I’m going to have nothing but people who stand around raising their eyebrows at each other. It’s okay in small doses, and maybe it works when I’m just writing up a few pages here and there, but as a whole it starts to get a tad obnoxious.… Read more
May
19

Random Bits of Awesomesauce

Posted in awesomesauce, editing, random, updates | 7 Comments
I finished my edits last night. Finally. At least the first round of them. I’ve already got the first 16 chapters back to start the process over again, but the hard part is technically done, so now it’s just polish and snip, I think. (I managed to add about 5000 extra words to the manuscript, so I suspect we’re going to have to streamline it a bit). I’m a little sketchy with how I’ve got the ending set up so I will probably be going back through that again, but as of 2 AM this morning, I couldn’t really focus on it anymore. I sent it off to my editor to give her a chance to look at the rest of it, and maybe we can come up with something better. I think I’ve been looking at it a little too long, so it’s probably good to just give it… Read more
May
12

Home Stretch

Posted in editing, updates | 4 Comments
I’m in the final bits of this round of revisions. It’s a heady feeling. Partially because I’m almost done. Partially because I’m not entirely sure how it ends. Which probably sounds a bit odd. I’ve got a fair idea of what’s going to happen, based on the other changes I’ve made, but I think I’m just going to have to see what the characters do when I get there. In other news, I was hit over the head and asked if I might like to present the PRISM awards for the FF&P Gathering at National this year. Which sounds more grand than it is. Not that the awards aren’t awesome, because they are. Just that I only got asked because the contest coordinators can’t make it this year, and seeing as I’m the web person for FF&P (and therefore spent some time coding the site for the contest), they thought… Read more
May
7

Awesomesauce…I am Made of It.

Posted in awesomesauce, editing, updates | 7 Comments
Well, maybe a little anyway. My editor loves my revisions- at least the first 16 chapters’ worth, so I’m definitely feeling a massive wave of relief here. We’re coming down to the deadline at the end of next week – hopefully I can continue to crank it out like I need to. My only concern now is that I’ve added a fair amount of action scenes, but I don’t want them to start being too repetitive – i.e. there’s a threat, characters confront the threat, characters defeat the threat, rest period, threat number 2 (which is maybe too much like threat number 1?) Rinse and repeat == boring and predictable? It’s a bit of a concern, but I think I’ll have to wait until it’s all really put together before I’ll be able to tell if it’s really an issue or just me being entirely too nit-picky.… Read more