Back in the saddle...

I've had to admit - it's part of who I am!

WRITING that is.

I try to take breaks occasionally - when life gets in the way - but then something happens to give me the boost I need to throw myself back on the mercy of my computer keyboard. I don't know whether it was the good news of my contest finals last week or the fact that I know this week will be slightly less crazy than the last and that hubby will be away the following week, so I'll have more time to write but something has got me back into it this weekend.

I've almost written 3k new words on the mss I'm revising for Carina. After realising I wasn't ready to sub, I'd decided to reassess my deadline and told the editor that I'd get it to her early next year, but now I'm hoping that somehow I can finish this rewrite before Christmas. Saying that, this rewriting business is VERY scary because I'm changing quite a bit but in doing so I'm scared that I might be losing some of the stuff that made Carina request revisions in the first place.

Anyone else been in this pickle before? Got any good advice... or do I just have to plod on and follow my gut!?

x

I'm in LOVE!

Okay perhaps infatuation is a better word.

I was gonna write a post about the hero I've been brainstorming for my next mss and how utterly divine he is but that I'm having issues with setting his conflict directly against my heroine who is also very strong to me. But I was only playing with this mss while tring to NTA the sub that was currently sitting on someone's 'desk' in Richmond.

Anyway I've heard back on my sub, which was just over the first half of the novel. I heard back in a WEEK, which is why I'm in LOVE with the editor I'm working with. She's so kind and yet professional and helpful in her letters and she really MUST get some type of award for her speediness! Really, she must.

But you're probably all dying to know what she said, right?

At first my heart beat wildly and I almost died without reading the rest. She opened with something along the lines of my mss having strong elements but NOT QUITE achieving that elusive emotional complexity and sexual tension that I'd achieved in the partial. ARGH. Fighting the urge to slam the laptop shut and bang my head against the wall, I jumped to the end of the letter to find my fate.

Bottom line was despite a number of revisions on what I sent, she STILL wants to see my full.

Am excited by the fact I still have a full request and hugely daunted by what I must do in order to sub it.

The revisions all make HUGE sense. Everytime I read a revision letter I find myself thinking - of course! Why didn't I see that?

But once again - as seems to be the case with a lot of revision letters doing the rounds lately - I was relying more on convenient plot devices than following the true nature of my hero and heroine.

So now... it's kinda back to the drawing board. Allowing my heroine to feel angry about seemingly being used for sex and my hero to really feel the guilt and betrayal of his late wife while feeling immense attraction to the heroine!

Wish me luck! And I promise I'll try to write less self-centred posts in future!

Gold Letter Day!

Well... it looks like I will NOT be finishing even ONE mss this year.

I heard from the very speedy editor at M&B this morning and she said lots of lovely and good things about my partial but has suggested revisions and another look at the partial before she requests any more.

Good thing is (as my friend Sue BT pointed out) she gave me ticks for dialogue, voice and sexual tension and there is no apparent problem with the conflict. The major issue with this mss was that I'd set it at Christmas time and that didn't really add anything to the story. Also they'd like me to loose the boss/employee hook!

The revisions are DAUNTING. I'd be lying if I said they weren't... but I know they are a chance. A chance to improve my mss to a publishable standard.

Revision letters are GOLD!

So I've ditched the full mss deadline and am giving myself another one - to revise (and improve) the partial and resubmit mid January.

I'll keep you posted :)