Reader, it’s only days until November and that means 30 days of intense writing and not much else.
Except I’ve enrolled in a two day writing course with Kate Forsyth. Yay, I am so excited. To add to the already hectic schedule that’s scribbled on my calendar I am still trying to get the editing finished on Something In The Water.
As I draw closer to the time to send SITW out to some publishing houses, I get ever more nervous of doing it. I wonder if I will ever feel that it’s ready to go. Each time I read through it I find I am still changing things. Restructuring sentences and deleting extra full stops. Instead of feeling as if I’m getting closer, it’s making me more nervous about it ever being good enough to send to an editor. I could pay to have it edited but I really don’t have the money, so instead I’ll go over and over and over it.
The feed back from Charlotte Ledger has been helpful, and as I apply her recommendations it only serves to make me feel that I’m not up to par. On the other hand, I think I should just send it out and see what happens.
Finding where to send it is a whole other ball game. I’m simply not sure where it sits in the market. I didn’t write it with any particular imprint in mind. If I’m honest I didn’t even know what an imprint was when I wrote the first draft for last year’s NaNoWriMo.
As I approach the pointy end of writing, the bit where I have to do the hard slog and not just spew out convoluted prose, I can see that my dream to be a writer is a dream worth the blood, sweat and tears. And yes reader, there has been all three. While day dreaming about my story I’ve managed to cut myself instead of the carrot I was chopping. I’ve trudged up steep hills to visualise a scene for my story. I’m cried because I can’t get a scene right and feel like giving up. Or cried because my hobby is now a job and therefore it required that I actually work and not faff about.
So, is it worth it? I think so. Whether I ever get to sign a contract to have one of my stories published or not, I know that I will continue to write. Because I actually enjoy it. Well maybe not the editing, but the making stuff up, absolutely.
Do you write? Do you feel like it’s all too hard sometimes? Or is it just me and my wimpy tendencies? (note- you can lie here)
By the time we chat again reader I’ll be firmly bogged down in NaNoWriMo and just back from a weekend of writing in Sydney, so keep an eye open for a crazy dribbling post from me. Have a good week, I’ll be getting my house in order before the madness begins.
Paula, you are a truly amazing person. You put in the hard yards, and I am sure your writing is much better than you think! Have a brilliant weekend, and enjoy the writing course.
I’m getting stuck into NaNoWriMo too, and I can tell you I am thoroughly scared … my 11 year old MC is a better writer than I think I am right now. My plot doesn’t just have holes, it is actually only a series of stepping stones over quicksand (albeit very pretty stepping stones written on colourful post-it notes … thanks for putting me onto that idea). Still, my goal isn’t very lofty: have fun crafting a story and get into the habit of being a writer again.
Have fun! I hope to see you sometime during the next crazy month! 🙂
Thanks Vanessa, you’re too kind, but I’ll take it 😀
I guess the editing part of writing has been a challenge and I’m hoping as I write more, my writing will get better and the editing will not be quite so painful.
I’m glad you’re doing NaNo, we’ll keep in touch and encourage each other.
Paula, sometimes I think we edit so much we psych ourselves out and begin to believe our stuff really isn’t good. It is. I’m sure of it 🙂 As for the market thing, there are some books out there that don’t just fit into one, or into any particular “market.” Maybe yours is one of them?!
Only one way to find out hey? Ah well, I’m keen to see what Charlotte of Harper Impulse has to say. I will know more after that. I’m not a very patient person, with either myself or anyone else.
LOL impatience is part of it when we’re nervous and/or excited!
I once had to edit my work with a team of editors and they’d go through with a red pen to so many words, I wondered if I’d still feel like I’d written it by the time it was ready to be published. The editing process can be overwhelming, but when you get the thumbs up at the end it is the most euphoric you will ever feel.
I can imagine Susanna. It’s very scary and sort of personal the first time around. I guess I’ll learn to develop a tough hide. At least I hope I get the opportunity to get a tough hide and end up published one of these days. Soon!