I DID IT :o)

Two weeks ago I set out to edit, revise, and add 12,000 words to my Holiday Novella. And I just typed those lovely last words that every aspiring author dreams to reach: "THE END"

Of course we writers know that it's really only the beginning, right?  There's never an end to a Novel only a "I can't read this thing for one more second, please get it out of my sight!"

Well, I'm happy to report that I exceeded my goal, adding 13,000 words and finishing two weeks early. I'm so excited.

I get lots of writers who ask me how I do it and every time my answer will be this:

I'm one of those crazy writers who spends an unhealthy amount of time thinking about my characters, wondering what will happen to them, and just really enjoying their world as it develops.

In short, I write exactly what I'd want to read, how I'd want to read it.

I don't focus on trends, in fact, there are projects in portfolio that are considered to be dead Genre's and I'm certain I will never make me a dime, but I sure had a blast writing them.

If you're one of those writers struggling to finish your novel, you might have to ask yourself the same tough question I had to ask myself about UNDISTURBED.

Who am I writing/revising this story for?

My answer was: So the agent will like it. (Incorrect)

I've been battling with my UNDISTURBED rewrites for nearly a year now and it is literally painful, panic inducing, "I wanna eat my entire refrigerator" type of anxiety, which I know that it shouldn't be this hard.

Why don't I have as much fun editing UNDISTURBED as I did my Holiday Romance?

Because I wasn't doing it for myself. I think you lose something really special when you start trying to write to other people's taste.

So here's a promise to myself:

I will stop focusing on what I "think" the agent wants to see in my story and write what feels right to me. I mean it was this type of thinking that led to writing a novel that agents were actually interested in reading and gave me feedback on.

And let me say that their advice has been 100% spot on in making UNDISTURBED a much better story. The problem is they can only give me notes and suggestions. The words have to come from me, which means I have to be judge of which words feel right to me.

If marriage has taught me anything, it's that you can't read another person's mind, so don't bother trying.

So, dear readers. The next post that you will see from me will be the completion of my UNDISTURBED edits. With my head in the right place and my priorities reset. I feel stronger than ever to finish my rewrites once and for all.