May 20, 2008: 63% finished!

Another four hours today, and 38,000 words. And I really AM reading them carefully! I go back over things as I need to, I'm making changes (tweaks, in most cases) nearly every page... but it's just moving along well. Is excellent. :)

Writing Project: 7's edits
Time Planned: 4 hours
Time Spent: 4 hours
Favourite Part: how much I still love this book :)

Exercise: 40 minute interval workout
One Fun Thing I Did Today: I'm going to watch the Toronto Marlies hockey team play tonight!

52% complete!

I am over the halfway mark on the editing of "All My Exes Ain't In Texas". I feel great about what I've done. There's always more that could be added, but I honestly feel that it's got what it needs. I've been working hard and I think I'm being rewarded. Feels good!

Keep your backstory to yourself!

Twice in my current manuscript, I have encountered a scene which involves a group of people talking. Now, these are people who haven't seen each other in a while, so some "hey, what have you been up to?" does make some sense... but I do not need to show all (any?) of it to the reader.

One scene is the one I blogged about a few days ago, which turned out not to belong. Several of its pieces have been incorporated into other scenes; many will be left in my "bits to keep and maybe use" file.

The other scene? I cut it by two-thirds and turned it into an argument instead of a friendly discussion. Now, not only is it interesting on its own but it leads into a future argument.

This editing thing is tough, but it sure does make for a better book!