Editing hell

Nights – Obsessed – Thousands Down

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Photo credit: me 🙂

Hey guys, welcome back. I’m sorry I haven’t been exactly consistent here lately. Between being sick and working my ass off on this book, I’ve been losing time for other things. That, of course, needs to change.

However, happy to say that I’m still here and hopefully, so are you!

I’ve been working obsessively on this manuscript and over the past week, week and half, I’ve been able to shave over 7100 words! I’ve even figured out the formula for doing so. I’ve been reworking chapters, changing perspectives and even changing around the order of some chapters.

What’s funny is that for someone who wrote extensively for months, (I mean, over 460,000 words from April to September is pretty extensive) but only cutting and pasting for the last month and a half, my fingers are not as used to flying across the keyboard as they once were.

Last night alone, I rewrote three chapters and my hands were asking me why. I actually found myself laughing. Talking to my fingers and giving them a pep talk. I’ve mentioned before that I have issues with arthritis and other illnesses (yes, I‘m a medical mess) so to unleash them all over again and have them start to do their thing after a much needed break? Sue me for wanting to cheer my fingers on. After all, I need my hands to write. That’s all I want to do. And there is only so much caffeine can help with…even though it is the most wonderful substance on Planet Earth.

So here I am, obsessing night after night creating and in many ways, recreating what I’ve already written to sculpt my words into a better version of what it once was. But we all do this, right? Ok, so maybe not the whole cheerleader thing, but the revising over and over again of our work. I’m starting to truly believe that the writing itself is the ‘easy’ part. That the writing is only 10% of what happens when creating a book. The other 90%? Cutting, moving, reorganizing, cursing and remolding the dialogues into something so tangible that it will become something that you didn’t even envision in the first draft. And in my case, it’s more like 90% cursing 10% everything else.

What I’m having fun with now is giving another main character a bigger voice. Giving him his own perspective. I’ve been really surprised how easy I’ve found it getting into his head. I think it may be because I’ve spent so much time with these characters now that I know what makes them tick. But writing his side has opened up so much more of the story that can be introduced a little earlier than I had originally. For the reader, this is a very good thing. For the writer, it’s giving me more of a creative option that I wish I had seen, or rather utilized earlier. But now that it’s here? I’m going to make the most of it.

In the meantime, this has been an extremely interesting exercise in patience, something I am famous for not having. I think that has been the biggest surprise of all. As impatient as I am for getting this finished, now knowing that the story can be taken up a notch? I’m here for all of it…and hope that in the long run, this will end up being the absolute best that it can be.

And that is where I will leave you for today. Thank you as always for coming back and I do hope to get back to posting more here. In the meantime, having you all bear with me while I’ve been dealing with (what they now think may be long covid), has kept me going and I will never be able to thank you enough for that. You all take care of yourself and remember, Halloween candy has no calories. So treat yourself! (Yes, this is the lie I tell myself every year. Work with me.)

Until next time…cheers all!

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Already looking for holiday gifts? Check out the links here on my site, from books to gifts for writers and readers alike, I’ve got a whole lot to see and much of it has been designed by me!

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If you’ve made it this far, I thank you again. Hope you are all enjoying the Fall season! 🍁🍁🍁

Sorry – Sick – Still Here

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Photo credit: Sarahs_Captured_Moments on Pixabay

Hey guys, welcome back! Sorry it’s been a minute since I’ve been here. I’ve still been really sick and haven’t really been up for writing a post lately. However, I didn’t want you to think that I’ve disappeared!

Throughout the whole illness, I’ve still been working hard on the editing of my book and now, deep into the second go around, I’ve finally been cutting the words that I need to. (I hate it though, not gonna lie.) I think I’ve also figured out a couple of chapters that can be completely rewritten and moved around to cut even more.

I’m not gonna lie, it’s been hard. Not just because I haven’t wanted to face the fact that I need to cut so much, but I’m tired constantly and sometimes the words are all meshing together. I’m kind of interested to see what I’ll read during the third read through to see just what I’ve done this last time around. Lol

With all of this going on, I’ve been happily reading some fall themed books and trying to keep in the feel of my favorite time of the year. I may not be able to get outside, but I can live vicariously through the words of other authors who have been giving me all the autumn small town feels.

Anyway, I am so happy you guys are sticking with me and I hope to get posts out on a more regular basis once again. Hoping for either a better diagnosis (or drugs) this week when I go to the doctor and I’ll take it from there!

In the meantime, be good, be safe and have a few pumpkin spice lattes in my honor!!!

Until next time…Cheers!

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To follow me on social including my #booktok: linktr.ee/promosocially

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Already started holiday shopping and need ideas? Click one of my shop links on this site. Or…for my vintage and estate jewelry: linktr.ee/stuffwefind for fun stuff I’ve designed like stickers, bookmarks, tshirts and accessories: linktr.ee/stuffwemade

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If you’ve made it this far, I thank you and will see you soon. ☺️

Words – Words – More Words

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Hey guys, welcome back! I once again dropped the ball after not having posted twice last week, but I was both celebrating the finishing of the first draft and then did a deep dive into editing hell. lol I’ve also still been sick, so between trying to do massive word count cuts in the manuscript and trying to breathe, I’ve been laying low.

It’s been quite a daunting revelation this whole word count issue. If you missed my previous post, I completed the first draft of my manuscript that I began in April and went wayyyy over the word count that is normally accepted by the industry. And by way over, I mean, well over 300,000 words. So I am here to tell you that editing hell is a real place and you don’t need a passport to get there!

However, I am here to say that in the first week, I’ve already cut close to 3000 words and have figured out places where big chunks could also be taken out. I’m not going to lie, this is all killing me. To me, there is a definite progression to my story, as it should be of course and everything written (in my mind at least) is important to the story as a whole.

I’ve tried finding places where I could just cut the book into several, but then it wouldn’t make sense. Yes, there will be a sequel/possible series from these characters, but this is the first one. The one with the background stories, the one with the whole ‘getting to know you’ stuff. The one that is supposed to have the readers wanting to come back for more! (I don’t want to cut anything!) And I’ll be honest here and tell you that on more than one occasion, as I sit in the dark and become merciless with the delete button, I stop and do a little whining and apologize to my characters…you know, like a grown up.

While all of this is going on, I’ve still been reading a ton and since I’m in the process of rereading a series that I’ve already read two other times, I’m really paying attention this time to how the author connects the stories. Trying to figure out how I can do that with my own. By the way, I’m reading these books again because there is a new one that just came out and I want to familiarize myself with the characters again. Also because they are great Fall reads and I need the escape. Not that I need to justify it, but yet, here I am doing just that.

I’ve also become late to the party and currently obsessed with Hamilton. Only took me ten years to watch this and now I can’t stop. I’ve also developed the mantra, “what would Lin-Manuel do” when it comes to editing. I’m sure with the way his genius mind works, many of the songs were freestyled first and then edited down. I’ve now dubbed him my own personal yoda and if he is reading this right now? Hi! Wish Hamilton had been around when I was still involved with theater myself, but that’s ok. I now sing the songs around my house daily.

I don’t know if you can tell from this post but between the editing and my illness? I’m slightly losing it. I’m working so hard on this book and trying to make it its best while also trying like hell to make sure I don’t cut or rework things into something that makes no sense. I’m not sleeping right as the score of Hamilton plays over and over in my head and then mixes with the scenes I eithe just got rid of in the book or scenes that I’ve now realized I can get rid of without it affecting the story.

Writing was the easy part for me. The rest is heartache. Hopefully what I am left with is something that will not only want to be read, but more importantly, that I can be proud of. Because if I’m not, then what the hell is this all for anyway, right?

And that is where I will leave you for today. Sorry if it went to a weird place, but that’s the kind of place I’m in right now. I think we very now and then, it’s ok to go there. It’s what makes life less boring.

Until next week…cheers all! 😉

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If you’d like to follow me on social, including my (happily) growing booktok: linktr.ee/promosocially 

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To read the Dream Harbor series I’m currently reading, start with book one…The Pumpkin Spice Cafe. Small town romance with a bit of spice and quirky characters. (Btw, they get a little spicier as the series goes on. Not dark by any means, but don’t let the cozy covers fool you. These are adult books.) As of this post, the ebook is currently free on prime reading and you can go to author Laurie Gilmore’s page to find the order in which to read them. To check out the first book, click: HERE

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To find some fun Halloween and Fall items that I’ve designed, you can find them across my shops: linktr.ee/stuffwemade