Done Revising

I just finished this round of revisions on ROHANA and sent them off to my agent, Laura. Part of me wants to celebrate, but that part is very small. Mostly because I gave up. I'm sure there's more I should do, but I wanted to toss the whole thing into the fire (thank goodness for fire-resistant computer files). The Doubting Snake of Writing slithered into my writing room and wouldn't leave me alone.

Another reason I can't really celebrate is because it is now time to clean house. Elizabeth is at daycare (thank you, blessed drop-in care for us stay-at-home mommies who happen to have writing projects) for the rest of the day, and it's now time to participate in some house-wifey duties. The laundry has been piling up (clean, folded laundry that I just haven't felt like putting away). The floor needs to be vacuumed. The bathrooms need to be tidied. And all must be put in its rightful place before the wee one gets here.

Now, some Octobery delight:

Small, Medium, and Large Pumpkins


Running through the Straw Maze

Revision on a Roll

I woke up early this morning, as you do when you have a toddler, and then went straightaway to Target and bought myself a new desk chair. Nothing fancy, but it's super comfortable when compared to my old wooden chair.

Then I came home, locked myself in the office, and tried out the Shrunken Manuscript revision method. Only, I didn't read the directions first and I ran out of computer paper. It didn't seem to work out well for me, but that's hardly the method's fault--likely it's my interpretation of the method. At any rate, I decided to recycle the paper and print off the last four chapters, where ROHANA seemed to fray the most. Then I read, and thought, and read some more.

Then it came to me. Aha! A means to an end, literally. The only downside (if you can call it that) was that I had to re-write the ending, the last three or four chapters, from scratch.

So we went to the grocery store, had lunch, and put the kiddo down for a nap...and, since hubby was home, I left the house. I went to Starbuck's, since my critique group recently gave me a giftcard (a "congrats for getting an agent" gift--how cool is that? I also got a mug that says "My Critique Group Understands Me"). There, whilst occasionally cupping a hand over my ear as my coffee-house neighbors chatted too loudly, I wrote. And wrote.

I wrote 3,265 words.

I don't think I've done that in a long time, if ever.

Now, there's more to be written, but my bum was tired at that point and I had to get home.

Revisions Revisions

I like to blog after I've done something productive so I can brag, but today I'm muddled. I even made a special trip to the grocery store to get some Starbucks Frappaccino bottles, which is generally against my "tea only" routine. The problem with revisions at the moment is that I want to go back to bed. Last Friday I even laid down to write, citing it'd be more comfortable than my wooden Ikea chair, but I just ended up napping. Today's rule is: No Horizontal Revisioning. And I cannot use pregnancy as an excuse because if I do, then I'll soon be using postpartum as an excuse. And I just can't trust the re-writing to the dog, no matter how eager she may be to tackle the plot arches in my book.

Speaking of dogs, I wish mine would just turn into a cat. She'd be easier: I wouldn't have to take her out to pee, she'd shed less (did I mention she's half-German Shepherd and half-Collie??), she wouldn't jump all over the toddler play-dates, she wouldn't steal food off of the plates, and if she decided to lie in front of the couch, beneath my feet, she'd probably move when I needed to stand up. (Imagine an 8-months-pregnant lady trying to stand up off the couch without using her feet.)

Ha! I called myself a "lady." That's funny (to me) because I more resemble the palace laundry lady than any genteel ladies.

Revisions and a Bit o' Joyce

I spent the first half of the day at Panera, sipping tea and outlining the novel I'm revising. Curiously, I had never written down what happens in each chapter. I mean, I'd done that before all of the writing, but things changed, and seeing it all out in the open after writing the novel was, well, interesting. I was able to sketch out what needs to be done and then write some of the new stuff into the story.

Yet there is much more to be done. And it will be hard. (But oh so worth it.)

When my brain couldn't dump any more into my Dana, I headed over to the bookstore and checked out their 70% Off stack. As usual, it was filled with tour guides to places I don't need to read up on just yet (like Stockholm, although I'd love to go), various religious books, and random novels I'd never heard of. But there was a gem: yes I said yes I will Yes: A Celebration of James Joyce, Ulysses, and 100 Years of Bloomsday. I snatched that up pretty quick. Maybe, just maybe, it'll help me finish (and understand) Ulysses. I've read A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Dubliners, and Chamber Music, but the "best book of the 20th Century" has continued to elude me.


I picked this photo because it was taken in 1904, the same year Bloomsday occurred. Photo source: National Archives of Ireland.

Why tackle the book? He tells me to, that's why.

"The only demand I can make of my reader is that he should devote his whole life to reading my works." --James Joyce

Also, I think I'm in love with him.

Teen Writing Workshop #2

Tonight I'll be doing another writing workshop. Yay! This time, we're focusing on character development and then wrapping up the class with a writing prompt about secrets. (Ooooh....secrets....)

I'll tell you all about it when I get back, and I hope to have some pics or videos of the class.

We are showing two YouTube videos from Jackson Pearce to spice things up a bit. Her videos are the BEST EVER. Here they are:

This one is about using the Disney process in your writing:


This one is about revising...it's like cake:


Hope to have a fun evening. After this, it's all work, work, work. I got my revision letter from my agent, and so I'll be just a bit busy the next several weeks. I've got so much to do, not to mention the revision! I have to basically re-write my book, get the house ready for baby Henry (due in about 6 weeks), potty train my Dinosaur, and finish unpacking from our move. And all of this I want done by Halloween because I'll be full-term then, ready to pop (or unable to move).

Speaking of which, last night I had the honor of having the baby head-butt me in my spine/tailbone. It was not so fun. The sensation was something akin to having an alien trying to come out through my back.