I've been lazy. Or bored. Or terrified. No, lazy is the word needed here. In September, Andy Meisenheimer at The Editorial Department critiqued my latest novel, CASSANDRA'S CURSE. He didn't tear it apart. He packed fifty pounds of C4 into chapter 3 and stepped back. Granted, the story really needed an explosion of that magnitude to get it moving in the right direction, but I'll admit the damage put me into a state of shock.
I emerged ready to do what needed to be done, only to fall into a pit of depression. I'd had enough. It's too hard. The process is too long. Whine, whine, whine. (You've all probably heard this before.) Thankfully, I have a friend who kicked my behind out of that pit by saying she wouldn't let me quit. She's that powerful.
So I re-structured the novel via a new outline. I integrated a list of new scenes that need to be added. I identified the weak scenes that need to be deleted or seriously revised.
Now it's time to do the work. And since November is coming, all I see in the blogosphere are NaNoWriMo posts and hints for making November a successful writing month. I'm taking advantage of this euphoria/frenzy. I'm setting a goal: finish the edits on CASSANDRA'S CURSE by November 30 so I can send the revised manuscript to the literary agent who wants to see it.
With my goal published here, you, my four loyal readers, are in the enviable position of keeping me accountable. I'll share my progress at the end of November. If I succeed, gift cards are welcome. Failure is not an option.
I'll keep you posted.
-Sonja
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