In a perfect world, I’d stay at home in my nightgown writing up a storm. But alas, I have to earn a living, so I sally forth - sometimes seven days per week - into the world of work.

The last couple of days have left me no time to write.  My son had a procedure scheduled for next week, but the hospital called me up on Thursday to say they had to do it yesterday as they had cancelled all peadiatric surgery for next Friday.  The day started at 4:30 a.m. and I sensed it would be one of those everlastingly long ones.

I attended a meeting later in the morning and those people were late picking me up.   Thankfully, it didn’t last long.

Every time I called my husband at the hospital, my son still hadn’t gone into surgery and by the time I got back there, I wondered if something had gone wrong. Thankfully, nothing did, which I proved for myself by meeting him outside the recovery ward.  We avoided a spot of potential drama when the nurse advised us that he could eat whatever he could manage.  We had primed him by telling him he couldn’t eat anything solid for a couple of days. This was based on prior information we received.  He was in a bad mood, having had blood drawn on Thursday and then meeting the IV needle on Friday morning.  Need I mention the moaning that went on over the thought of not being able to eat anything after the procedure?

The evening out with some friends from my high school days was a good stress reliever and today, I’m hoping to get some writing done - after I get back from the salon, and before it’s time for choir practice.

On the book publishing front:

I was pleasantly surprised to get a call back from a book dealer for whom I’d left a message some days ago. That conversation went well.

I sent a press release to the newspaper that publishes my short stories and I will be releasing the story to the other newspapers come Monday.

The book markers became a hellish journey.  The graphics were okay, but it took over a week to get them done.  I figure the printers had a hellish week too because their turnaround time is usually quick.  After an hour-and-a-half wait yesterday - thankfully, I didn’t go myself - they were done.  I’m not one hundred percent satisfied, because I did order them with rounded edges, but they’ll do.  Now to get them out there and create a little buzz.

And yeah…I did get that short story submitted this week.  I’ll get back to my WIP later today and I have the first chapter for that young adult novel worked out in my mind.

More anon…

In 2004, my pals at Blogit suggested I write a novel.  I hemmed and hawed over it for a bit, and then decided it sounded doable.  I didn’t understand what a mammoth task I had taken on, but I read reams on writing fiction.  Still, I made tons of mistakes.  The grammar and sentence structure were in place, but I had point of view issues, as well as the habit of including details that didn’t matter.
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With continued reading and the help of other writers, I improved.   I’ll remain forever grateful to the people I met at the online workshop, The Next Big Writer.   Workshops are wonderful tools to help writers improve their skills.  They can also be dangerous.
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We all have our ideas as to what good writing is, however, in giving my opinion to other writers I try not to sound as if my views are the only ones that count, and that I have all the answers.  Of course, I don’t. I’d be silly to think I have a handle on this art form that tons of people struggle with daily.
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When I do a review, I mostly concentrate on grammar and sentence structure because that’s where I excel.  Half the time, there are things wrong with what I’m reading that I can’t put a name to.  In those instances, I may note that I couldn’t put my finger on what I thought was missing, but I still give encouragement to the writer.
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The last thing I want to do is confuse another writer, but inadvertently, it happens.  I was reading Tirz’s blog post, wherein she pointed out that her book relies strongly on voice and that the narrator was unreliable.  In my mind, there’s nothing wrong with that.  I like a little unpredictability.
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She also noted, and I’m quoting her here, that people wanted explanations.  They want everything to be boxed off and clear and concise. But I don’t think this book will ever be completely normal. But does that mean it won’t be satisfying?
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My response to the above would be to write, first of all to purge and satisfy herself, and then on the edit, make sure the reader understands what the story is about. If she, as the writer has some sense of where she’s going with the tale, and knows what her character should achieve, then it’s okay to pursue the current path.
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The facilitator at the workshop I attended always told the group never to ‘write down’ to the reader.  Always assume your reader is more intelligent than you, is what he’d say and I try to remember that when I’m tempted to explain the obvious.
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It sometimes boggles me when I post chapters and someone remarks that they missed this and they never understood that and suggest that maybe I should have done x or y.  Usually, I go back, read slowly, and check the order and clarity of things.  After I’ve done that a few times, and I’m content that all is as it should be, I comfort myself that the fault lies with the reader – especially if nobody else mentions the problem that particular reader pointed out.
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Writers tend to be deep thinkers. Sometime we think too much.  Yesterday, I read that there are many manic depressives among writers.  That said, I’d rather rake through my storyline with a fine-tooth comb than believe right off the bat that my story isn’t working.  With my temperament, next thing I know I’ll be wallowing in the doldrums.  Maybe if half-a-dozen people tell me it isn’t, I might believe, but I’m not going to sacrifice my story because one person wanders over, has a read and can’t fathom what I’m doing.
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I’m reviewing a novel on tbnw that I can’t make head or tail of; it’s kinda too high-brow for me.  I’m a simple-minded gal, you see.  However, I admitted up front to the writer that I didn’t have much of a clue as to what was going on.  Some of the stuff, I do understand. Other things fly right over my head.
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Better educated writers than I seem to have grasped the concept of the story, and that’s okay.  I make my contribution in the grammar department – but I wouldn’t go out on a limb to offer advice on any of the speeches he’s written for his characters that are related to economics or the working class.
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They might very well not be ’working’ for the novel, but what the heck do I know?  I made a general comment that the book would have a very small niche market and the writer knew exactly what I meant.  He agreed with me.
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But I’m thinking about Tirz’s question…when you’re doing something new, how can you trust someone on plot?…my answer is that you can’t. If the writer doesn’t have all the answers, then it’s a good idea to get the book written before accepting any judgments on the work.  At least when the story is done, there’s a solid lump of material that can be moulded to fit the author’s vision, or it can be rearranged at will.
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I don’t think the middle of the process is the time to wonder if everything makes sense.  Too many people do this, get discouraged and never finish. As with all my projects, I enjoy the journey, taking all the criticisms, compliments and the are-you-sure-you’re-allowed-to-do-that questions in stride.
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The time to doubt myself is when I’ve gone into labour, squeezed out the baby, only to find it’s missing an arm, leg or some other vital body part. Even then, I don’t despair. Reconstructive surgery is always an option.
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We writers are good at that.