Well, mostly I’ve been writing here about word count progress. And that’s probably not all that interesting to y’all, even though I find it very motivating.

Last night I finished editing Forget-Me-Not. It weighed in at 102K words. YAY! I’ve realized that one or two more scenes are needed to tie up loose ends so I’ll be adding those today or this coming week.  My beta readers all have a chunk of the novel and soon they’ll have the entire thing to read and respond to. I’ll make changes as I receive feedback.

This next week, I’ll be beginning to query agents for FMN. I’m also going to drag out my 2008 NaNoNovel, Mystery Valley Ranch (working title) and start editing that.

A painting that is all golden glow and admirable wordless heft

I read a quote today that I thought was worthy of sharing with you.

“To gain the book one must give up all hope for the book. It is the only way the book can get written. While one writes one cannot simultaneously be gazing up at a glorious, abstract painting of what the book should be, a painting that is all golden glow and admirable wordless heft conveying a sense of a book like a bible, like your very own bible, penned by you - and at the same time expect to be advancing into the body of this particular earthy book. It won’t work. You may gaze and gaze, but you may be sure that when you begin to write, that gorgeous ineffable volume will not coalesce on the page. Something else will appear. And then you have a choice. You can accept it, and get on with your writing, or you can throw it away, and pine for the painting. It is so beautiful! When you’re not actually writing, you have the feeling it would be so simple to get it down on paper. Yet when the time comes, your sentences tangle you. They knot and seethe, grasping like desperate children, hampering you and making you fall so that the beautiful book, the infinite book, is forever out of reach.”

From the book Writing Past Dark by Bonnie Friedman

(Thanks to VictoriaPL from the 999 Reading Challenge.)

I wrote the ending today! It’s finished! Just over 100,000 words.

Next week, I’ll go back through and add in chapter divisions and edit for cohesiveness, spelling, etc… (No, I don’t write with chapters already figured out. Can’t seem to do that!) Hopefully I can finish that next week and pass Forget-Me-Not on to my beta-readers.

I’ve now racked up 43,000 words to add to the 51,000 previously written. I think I’m finally on the downswing, wrapping up the plot. YAY Go me! I’d like to finish this week, and it will probably end up around 100K.  Unless one of my characters does something unexpected, which has been known to happen, Forget-me-not should soon be complete - at least in first draft form. Then self-editing will begin and beta reading will follow.

This wine, a Pinot Gris, plays a role in one of the scenes I just finished. My main characters share a bottle over dinner.

I wrote more than 9000 words this week. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were all 3000 word days. Thursday was a bust for writing - only about 600 words. Friday is too busy for writing, but hopefully I can accomplish some on Sat or Sun.

The main characters are coming to a point of resolution, but something is going to come along to cause a little problem for them.

I am at 84K right now total for the book, but I am guessing another 10-12K is going to be needed. No worries though. In editing, I am sure a lot of dead weight will be excised.

I plan to finish writing it this week, read through it once and make obvious changes, spell check it, and then get it printed out so I can do some serious editing before passing it on to the beta readers. (Wanna be a beta?)