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Sunday, January 2, 2011

2011: The Year of Revision (and a talisman)

Sorry.

It's like all I've posted about lately is revision.

That's because if I don't get my butt in gear, I won't have anytime for writing new things this year at all. I'll just be spending my time polishing up old stuff.

Well, not really old stuff...but old as in not the first draft.

I love the first draft.

But alas, first I have to finish revising The Seven Tales of Trinket for my editor. I just finished what I think is the hardest part just a few minutes ago. Yay! We'll see in the next few days if I like what I did or if it is lame-o. (I am afraid to ask Harrison Ford. You see, he'll just say something smart aleck-y like,"If you have to ask, then you know the answer already....")

Next, I have to do the first revision of Keelie of the Lake. I finished the first draft in the fall (yay!) but just as I was going to dig into revisions (so that I can see if it even makes sense) I got the editorial letter for Trinket. So I put it on the back burner until Trinket is done.

After Keelie, I need to revise Wren Faire, a story that I really loved when I wrote it last year, but I think needs some over-hauling. I had written it as a YA, but I am just not sure if I am a YA author or not. I want to play with this piece a bit...change the ages of the MCs and see what happens. I am so excited to tinker around...but not until I finish other things.

THEN I want to play with a new draft of something kind of weird, but that might require some research on my part. (Finally, a story with a chimpanzee butler, you are saying to yourself. Admit it.)

My goal is to finish Trinket by the end of the month, then get one round done with Keelie by the end of February. I am giving myself a bit more time to play with Wren, but I'd still like a revised version by the end of April. That would leave me and chimpanzee butler the spring and summer to play together!

Big goals. I thought I needed a talisman, you know, for inspiration. So I bought the tiniest glass dragon today named Onyx that came with this little biography:

Onyx the black dragon likes to do magic tricks and is intrigued by legends of powerful sorcerers. He spends his evenings studying alchemy and making potions in his kitchen. Onyx has an abundance of curiosity and likes to explore the world around him. He encourages others to think outside the box as well.

So I guess I'm all set.

hrh

13 comments:

Catherine Denton said...

You goals always seem like a lighthouse in the fog to me. I find myself thinking, "When I grow up I wanna be like her."

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

I am so inspired by the way you throw yourself into these projects. I can't wait until Trinket is on the shelves and then I'll be waiting for Keelie and Wren! You've got a Mighty Muse. Next time you go on vacation, send her over for a confab. Thx.

Christina Lee said...

Waves to onyx!!! Well, I don't mind b/c I am up to my eyeballs in revisions too! Good luck, missy!

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I wish I could write as quickly as you do - you really know how to whip out the MS's. Maybe I need to buy myself a cute dragon talisman! :-)

Unknown said...

Wow. Your post makes me want to go take a nap just reading it. :)

Laura Pauling said...

I tend to blog about what I'm in the middle of doing too. I love first drafts and am almost sad to see it ending in a few weeks. But I'm also excited to start editing. It's my first YA - all I've written is MG, but this story was not MG. Best of luck with your revisions!

Susan R. Mills said...

Wow! You've got a lot of work ahead of you. You've inspired me to get busy myself.

Julie Hedlund said...

Hmmm, I have a lot of revision to do in the first few months of the year too. Maybe I need to get myself a talisman.

Paul Nunley said...

It's so nice to see ya,

Paul J. Nunley

ya, that one! LoL

storyqueen said...

Catherine-"A lighthouse in the fog"..nice! Right now I kind of feel like a patch of fog...in the middle of some fog....

Tricia-Trinket on the shelves! That's the image I'll try and conjure when I am stuck in revis-o land.

Christina-Thanks for the luck! I'll take everything I can get.

Shannon-Actually, I don't think I'm that fast...about half a year for the first draft. Then WHO KNOWS how long for the revising.

Karen-Me too:)

Laura-Ooohhh, your first YA. Very cool. I'd love to know what it's about!

Susan-Ha! I wrote the post to inspire MYself to get busy!

Julie-I recommend it. And dragons are the best.

Paul-THAT Paul Nunley??? OMG...nice to see you, too!

Anne Spollen said...

Yup, you're all set.

Revision is like the monster that eats your brain. Somehow writing about it seems to help, so I'm with ya' on that.

Good luck in finishing it all!

Anne Spollen said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jessie Oliveros said...

A spring and summer with a chimpanzee butler? I love it!