January is flying by. I'm down to one Christmas tree on the deck and just a few patches of deep snow. Paul and I leave soon for Old Time Fiddlers down in Sequim at the grange. While we're gone Randy and Wyatt will be bulldozing a chicken coop and other assorted buildings at a neighbor's farm. This is Randy's equivalent of fun so it will be a good Saturday for him. I just want to be writing!
About that Red River edit... Several scenes just don't work so I am noting which to cut. I'm about 75 pages from the end of the manuscript. The trouble lies in the back of the book which is not final draft material anyway. The first 235 pages are solid and almost as polished as I can make them with a few adjustments needed. Mostly missed opportunities to build tension/conflict. You can always tell when a scene doesn't work as it makes you almost wince reading through it. The solid scenes don't have that effect. Just imagine what it would do to a reader if it makes the writer wince - or an editor! So watch that wince factor:)
I never realized that this writing business is really all about rewriting. It takes a tremendous amount of work to make a book readable, and even more to create a good book, and that's why I will never criticize another writer. No one writer does everything well. Well, maybe James Alexander Thom, my hero, but not the rest of us.
I've decided to come out of the woods and join the wireless world. Next week, Lord willing, we'll ditch what I call dinosaur dial-up internet connection for the real deal. A friend of ours has both (dial-up in his office and wireless at home) and says it's kind of like going back to holding hands when you've been kissing. Can't wait!
Happy Saturday.
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