I've Finished Editing!, Author Tips, Matilda Cat, and Talli Roland's Latest

oohoo!

I've finished editing on paper (ROW80)!


Rome, Rhymes and Risk (Ayten's story) is a mass of scribbles at the moment. I don't think I've ever had a story that needed this much scene-moving before. On the other hand, I've never done a substantial edit like this so early on in a story's life; even with Out of the Water (Rosa's story) I went through at least three drafts, if not more, before I printed it all out and tackled it en masse. But I'm trying to develop a quicker pace.

I have all these lofty story goals now:

June: make list of missing scenes for Rome, Rhymes and Risk and write them; continue with shiny new idea drafting in the mornings

July: type up all new scenes and edits for Rome, Rhymes and Risk; continue with shiny new idea drafting in the mornings

August: reread Rome, Rhymes and Risk one last time; continue with shiny new idea drafting in the mornings

September: enter changes for Rome, Rhymes and Risk and send it to betas; type up draft for shiny new idea

October: edit the shiny new idea; catch up on what I haven't finished in September; start drafting for Santiago and Mawdlen's story (Rosa's parents)

November: NaNo! for Santiago's story

December: edit something. Burn out. Take a two- or three-week vacation just to read books off my TBR pile!

All this while v e r y s l o w l y (to avoid rejection, of course) querying Out of the Water.

I wish I was writing here:

(photo from My Turkish Joys)

I'll just have to remember what Ray Bradbury said in Zen in the Art of Writing: "That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you."

Also what Neil Gaiman said about the faces of authors: "Since then, writers have looked like other people even when they write (though sometimes their lips move, and sometimes they stare into space longer, and more intently, than anything that isn't a cat); but their words describe their real faces: the ones they wear underneath."

And all the things Diana Gabaldon says, in a lovely long interview with The Authors Road.

In other author news, last week was the 45th anniversary of Dorothy Parker's death.

Which reminds me, the Algonquin Hotel cat, Matilda, is back at home!

We've been playing a round of The Minister's Cat game with Matilda, and you're welcome to join in for a second round!

On top of that, Bloomsday is coming up! Who's got plans? I might be attending a local quiz night...

In more exciting news, Talli Roland is launching her latest novel, Construct a Couple!

"Is any relationship strong enough to survive a string of secrets?

With a great job at a reputable magazine and a man who's the perfect match, Serenity Holland thinks she's laid the foundation for an ideal London life. When a routine assignment uncovers a shocking secret threatening her boyfriend's company, Serenity decides to leave nothing to chance, taking matters into her own hands. Soon, though, she realises keeping secrets isn't as easy as she thought . . . and the consequences are far worse than she ever imagined."

And there's still lots of time if you'd like to enter my Show me the Words! contest - blog about your writing and editing, and share photos!

Which new releases are you looking forward to this summer?