Do you find as you're writing/editing that as you get through a scene, especially one that's really emotional or tense, or when you reach the end of a chapter, that you take a big breath, think "whew, I got throught that" and have a hard time getting started again?I don't know what it is, but I find that as each milestone is met and completed, I have a hard time jumping straight into the next one. It's worse when I finish a book. It takes me months to get serious about my next project. Of course, I have no real deadlines, just the ones I impose on myself. It might help if I had to get something done by a certain time.
I just finished chapter 3 of my Christmas Bargain edits. The characters are behaving themselves for the most part and I think the characterizations are going a little deeper. In chapter four, I intend to get more of my heroine's backstory on display. And the hero is going to have his first conversation with his older brother. I'm really looking forward to introducing him (he was dead in previous versions of the book) and the competitive nature of their relationship should really increase the tension in the story.
I wrote this book before I had any idea how to target a particular series. It was originally written for Desire, but I didn't understand what constituted a Desire as I penned this. I believe that's why it did well in preliminary rounds, but never garnered much editorial interest. It has way too many secondary characters in it and it's very family oriented. I should have understood my problem when one of my first final round judges told me to be careful the family didn't overwhelm the story if it was targeted for Desire, but I was just getting started and her message didn't sink in. Then, when I listened to the podcast for Special Edition and heard the reference to the TV show Brothers and Sisters it clicked. That's the tone of this story. A fun-loving, bickering family that's dynamic and interesting. I only hope I can do them justice.
Today's goal: I'm going to see an adult movie (Taken--get your minds out of the gutter).
Yesterday's acheivement: Finished chapter 3
What I'm grateful for: 3 days of me time because my daughter is visiting relatives.
Quote: "Every great work, every great accomplishment, has been brought into manifestation through holding to the vision, and often just before the big achievement, comes apparent failure and discouragement." -Florence Scovel Shinn
