A New Life in Seattle

A New Life in Seattle
August, 2018

Friday, December 2, 2011

The Bigger the Trouble, the Better I Fly

 The competing juggernaut I described at the start arrives in January.  Though our story lines differ completely, the pressure's now on me to put on real speed since I am proceeding solo.  I'd first hoped to be querying agents by now.  But I've set that back till the end of the month for a couple of good reasons.

1)  The beta feedback received was terrific.  And one recurring comment about chapter 4 confirmed my own suspiciton that it suffered from Back Story Blues.  Since then I've found a way to get much of this upfront without sacrificing the consistent first person p.o.v.  This tough trick in progress will take a little time.
2)  Since I am flying solo, I need to go back through the first 80 pages that Brad, my ex-partner, had worked on.   However good his input was, I can't and won't use his words.  I'll consider myself blessed though for the lessons I received in clarity and speed from Brad.
3)  I'll need to do what I hate most:  come up with an outline and query that work.

Meanwhile--orchestration!--I whip the rest of the novel's tenth-drafted 300 pages into reading shape, honoring my betas.  And I take notes for the novel's last section which I have already drafted:  a 100-plus page hunt and siege.

Summary:  right now is the critical time zone.  This month.  Before that juggernaut arrives, I want the book's first fifty pages to rock...I want the next 250 polished to high glory...I want the outline and query completed...and I want to be already nailing the final 100 pages. 

No problemo.  I say, with my hero Boss:  The bigger the trouble, the better I fly.

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