Down to the wire

Feels like it anyway. Technically I have about 5 weeks until Christmas, but I want S7 available by Christmas. Tall order? Perhaps, especially since I've been tweaking the story more, and not just weaving the last part towards its modified ending. This is slowing the process. I know, I know - tinkering it to death will also kill any deadline. But I'm going with my gut, wherever that leads.

Options

Feeling a bit more free with options in this revision process. I've been able to cut the word count down to 203k from the original 220k. It really is amazing how shortening and sharpening the story is improving it. These are the early lessons of an author, experienced now, not just read about. There is a path to travel.... quite interesting to actually be on it.

Coming up on 2 months remaining. That's 8 weeks. No time to waste if I'm to meet the deadline. I'm definitely working towards it.

Major Rewriting

Oh, it's tough. Premise changes create substantial ripple effects. That said, it's happening, the story is morphing to align with the new premises, with the changed plot. It's fresh writing and it feels good. The hard part is weaving properly - making sure continuity and  pace remain intact.

Onward, forward...

"Skill is the unified force of experience, intellect and passion in their operation." ~John Ruskin

Deadline: Christmas 2012

The revisions must be complete before Christmas Day. Simple as that. Time has been slipping away. The goal of publishing S7 has been, too. Slipping further and further out. Enough! The excuses are always there, but I'm tired of making them. Dreams don't make themselves come true. Books don't write themselves.

So the deadline is set. I hope the day rolls around and finds System Seven on Amazon and other sites. If not, I'll be damned disappointed in myself. Time to go choose my destiny...

And... slow going.

While I am still writing a little nearly every day, I feel somewhat bogged in the process - meaning it's going slowly. This revision is considered major in that two or three premises are changed. Riding out (and fleshing out) the resulting waves of changes is a real challenge.

I'm reminded of that saying by Patrick Dennis, "Writing isn't hard. It isn't any harder than digging ditches."

So true for me right now. But hey, I've got something to work on. I'm moving forward. That's what counts.

What It's Really Like

It's a Saturday morning in June in Northern California. A brief hot spell has generously given way to the gorgeous, low '70's blue sky I see outside my window. The lawn is drinking the water I set out after mowing it this morning. It's 9:20am.

Before me rests the 225,000 word manuscript that is System Seven. Pandora radio is streaming my ambient station. Haunting flutes, deep congo drums, and synthesizers paint tension and drama on the canvas of the family room where I write. A tall glass of iced water sits within reach. I'm settled, ready to be the writer.

In revision, which is where I'm at now with the script, every paragraph, every sentence is subject to the prodding and testing necessary to achieve a few things:  a.) plot accuracy, b.) story continuity, c.) relevancy, and d.) brevity.  Since I'm revising certain premises, the testing for A and B are all important, literally like heart surgery for the story. C and D are also important for the overall health of the script and to improve readability.

What revision feels like varies from moment to moment, hour to hour, etc. The tides of this human's emotions tend to rise and fall and my desire to finish this script is the boat and oars of the revision process. There are moments when I almost literally crash into the words of a sentence, like hitting a wall, and my resolve shatters, the imagery breaks apart, and I'm left staring at a field of pixels on an advanced Lite Brite screen. My inner self gets out of the chair and walks away. So I step back, take a breath, look at the paragraph, reposition myself in the story, re-ignite the fire of imagination, light the scene, and begin prodding and testing again. It is like digging a ditch.

Other times, revision is like an exciting hike through a jungle. My footing is sure. Concepts are clear. I see through the foliage and reach out to grasp rare gems of prose and place them safely in my backpack. Characters breathe, the sun filters through the canopy to warm the ground, and what happens next has me, the writer, leaning into the story in anticipation.  I scan a paragraph, sense each sentence as a whole, and see the order in which they ought to be. This one comes before that -- there, much better, the flow is now natural. Details are like playthings that feel good in my hands. The scenes are alive, the plot thickens or thins, tension is increased or released. Control is fluid.

The norm is somewhere in between, an average of the extremes. The old adage, "Keep Moving" tends to apply. You have to keep moving the dirt, you have to keep the flow of the story going. Find the blockages, clear them. Find the garbage, remove it. Find the excess, snip it. Add the desirable ingredients. Stir the stew. And all the while, believe. Know that others have learned the craft. Know that there is always more to learn. Know that others traveled the same kind of road. Know there are worthy destinations ahead. Keep moving.

At its best, writing is trance. At its worst, writing is torturous. Revision is the same, but with more effort, more rules to consider, and greater possibility to manage. There is one thing for certain - you have to want to finish it and finish it well. You have to really, really want it.

Bam! Back a few steps, mister...

So some really good, honest feedback came in from two beta-readers. Both rang with the same issues having to do with story scope and complexity. As a result, S7 is now back in the shop for rewriting with very specific and significant story modifications required. It will be interesting to see what the end product will be like and how long. At last revision the word count was 228k...!

The feelings I have right now are telling me what it's like to be an author. It's a mixed bag of optimism, panic, determination, and sheer dread. I keep repeating the adage, "The only difference between amateur writers and published authors is that published authors didn't quit".  If I don't quit, I'm headed for eventual success. That's inspiring.

I'm also reminding myself to keep the process fun. Writing, the act of creating a reality in which a reader can submit oneself to, should be fun even when it's hard work. Laying out an alternate reality that will exist "forever" in digital form and (hopefully) in the memories of a human reader... that's entertaining work.

So I am back in the writing phase, tweaking the world I will soon release to readers.