You Know It Needs Editing When...

So I'm reading my EF aloud to my mother. Yes, granted I'd only gone over it once for the first edits. But it's a funny feeling when you read over something you've written yourself and find yourself saying: "What they saw was...*pause*...uhh, wait...what?"

For me it was the funniest thing when I realized I wasn't sure what the text, of which I was the creator, was saying. That's got to be the point where it dawns on one that there's still some work to do.

Actually, it was then that I realized what a fellow writer friend of mine meant when he commented that "it's a little hard to follow who's talking all the time. Suggest substituting fewer nominal references with pronouns." Yeah, funny thing was I got the exact same thing when I was reading. Only thing was, on one or two bits, I didn't know what it was saying at all. Of course after a few obscure pauses I was able to remember who was talking and about what, so I was alright. But I did get what it must have been like for someone without the privilege of that insight.

But I know I was correct about something: at first I thought it might be best for me to re-write the whole of Electrostatic Fantasy and make some major plot changes. But the more I carry on with my "tweaking," the more I know that all it needs is a tune up and not an overhaul.

My initial estimates on schedule are that the final draft should be finished by October. I'm also expecting word length to end up at 55k, although, admittedly, I was hoping for at least 60k =/

Get Your Butt In That Chair and HOK TAM!

Okay, so it's the 20th of the month now, and plenty of away time from stories achieved. With SeptNoWriMo about to start, and more importantly, NaNoWriMo right on its heels, it's more than time I got back to my babies :D

And I don't mean these either>

But I'm not going to wait around another week to start edits. Nothing like that acronym which is the author's best friend: BIC HOK TAM (Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard, Typing Away Madly). So I went and started on E.F. ahead of schedule. In keeping with the theme I decided to post my favourite except from the novel on here =3

After my pretty reaches it's final form I'm going to take a new challenge: acquiring 100 rejection letters exactly! And after I get 100, I'm going to start collecting 200 =3

Anyone want to make bets on how I'll do? ^__^

Procrastination Supreme

Nothing like an online RPG to completely suck one's attention totally away from writing :P

Lately it feels like I could spend all day and night just roaming around GaiaOnline and collecting several, actually useless, virtual items to jazz up my avatar.

And then there's my dragons...

However, in the midst of it, I haven't completely forgotten my novels. Been cleaning up a few ancient notes I've made and filing them. Also, another story which is still on the planning board Cuckoo Bullet Train has gotten a little addition to its idea bank. I love that story, it's based almost exclusively on random dreams I've had.

Oh yeah, it's September soon isn't it? Well, it's not like it'll be September tomorrow or anything, but for a writer months tick by all too fast =/ Might want to start prepping for SeptNoWriMo eventually.

I'll be researching Hawaii a lot more than I thought I ever would...

The End Of The Race...And My Ride Is In Pieces

Yes, JulNoWriMo has officially ended two and a half hours ago. Arkanos sadly didn't find life in its midst but luckily it didn't die either. I have placed my baby in the protected haven of the noveling ER and there it will be taken good care of.

But unlike what I planned originally, I think I'll be taking a break for August and not participating in AugNoWriMo.

By accident (well, sort of) I went and got addicted to this online game GaiaOnline, and spending more than healthy amounts of time on such vital matters as browsing for the cheapest alternative to that lovely pink kimono and that giant broadsword that would just totally complete my look. ^__^ On one hand I'm thinking that I must quit playing around and get back to work. But strangely, it hasn't had as negative of an effect as I imagined. Having thought about something else for a while, the planning of Arkanos doesn't feel so arduous anymore. Guess sometimes it's good to have a little space from your babies for a bit to get one's head cleared out.

That and these virtual slot machines are just sooo inviting...

So next it's SeptNoWriMo, the editing challenge which I'll be facing. Time to return to E.F. and confront all that research I had to *cough* abandon in June due to the urgency of JulNo preps.

But from this Master Author's manual I've gotten a few tips, and I'll definitely be implementing a change or two into E.F. which weren't on the list before.

September is so close, so I must make sure to put in extra procrastination time to charge up my batteries fully and be completely ready...

Teehee! ^__^ *Cheeky monkey!*