Only 3 chapters left to edit. I have to add 3 or 6 chapters as well.
This weekend my wife is taking a trip so I will be able to focus.
I am such an optimist.
I will be going to see Godzilla with my brother and I am also having some friends over for beer, burgers, bourbon, cigars and firepit.
--The light at the end of the tunnel might be a firepit!
I joined a new writers and attended my first meeting yesterday.
This one meets at a local library once a month. There was about 20 people there and it is organized on Meetup.com.
It was a two hour meeting, but went longer because no one was scheduled to use that conference room after them. 1:30pm is a good time to meet.
There were several self published authors there. I even purchased the Kindle book of a gentleman I met there.
--I like it. I will be back!
I have a self imposed deadline approaching.
Until further notice there will be no more Facebook or TiVo in the evenings until I have spent time editing at least one chapter.
If I keep to this discipline I will finish the second draft by months end.
--It is getting fun as the story ramps up!
My wife and I went camping this weekend with some friends. We have a 16 foot camper trailer that we took on it's first shakedown cruise since we bought it.
The camper we had just before this one was nice and helped us figure out what we really wanted in a camper trailer.
These were hard and fast requirements so I could quietly slide out of bed, make coffee, and sit at the booth with my laptop. The trailer passed with flying colors.
I would wake at 6am, drink coffee, eat Strawberry Frosted Poptarts and work on my book! There was no Internet there and barely a cell signal. I spent the whole weekend off-line.
I got through six chapters this weekend! It was very productive. More fun and less like work too. I can meet my self imposed deadline if I manage just one chapter a day going forward.
--Maybe it was the Poptarts! Who knew!
More characters fit the cutting room floor this weekend.
The book was bloating back up to 140,000 words so another seconday plot made it's way to the next book.
The slow slog of the second draft continues. I think I am still on target for the June 31 deadline.
This part is work. I need to tough it out. Make a habit of working it for a couple hours a day.
This part is also very important. All the people I know say that the editing shows the difference between amateurs and professional writers.
Spelling and grammar won't make your story better, but it makes a big difference in the Book. Spelling and grammar can only make your effort worse.
--It will never make a crappy story better.
I have been so busy lately that posting has been light.
I have been reading a lot though. All of them are post-apocalypse stories. Zombies!
The Shade of the Moon was the exception to the Zombies. Maybe Zombies would have made it better! It was the weakest of these books. A bit too whiny for me. The main character was a total woose.
--I am reading the classic Neuromancer by William Gibson again. Good stuff!