It's great to be excited about writing again.

I have been working on my second manuscript. Thinking things through, sending the first part through a critique group, enjoying the creative process, getting irritated that I don't know what should come next, or since I think I know what should come next if that is really what I want in that particular location, reading a book on how to make the best of your story by putting the right things in, in the right place, in the right amount. (boy that was a long sentence that my critique group would tell me to fix right away.)

Anyway, I have read over it and over it many times, and have discovered that printing it out and actually being able to see it on paper is so much different than just seeing it on the computer screen. I have been reluctant to print it since I don't want to waste the paper or ink on something I'll have to throw away eventually, but I must say, it has been really helpful.

I'm seeing the story with almost fresh eyes. And once I finish tackling the last 20 written pages, I feel like I know where to take the story again. I knew where I wanted it to end, but there are a few places throughout that have just sort of been cloudy to me. Now with the help of the book I read, (Larry Brooks, Story Engineering: the Six Core Competencies of writing) I know that it isn't in terrible shape, but with just a few tweeks and rearranging a couple of things, it has lots of potential.

My goal is to get the entire thing finished by June 15th. So I'm going to do that by writing every day for at least 30 minutes. And then I'll do the 15th through the 30th on an edit. Then I'll put the thing away for a month and work on something else so when I come back to it, I'll see it through new eyes, and do another edit.

It's great to be excited about writing again.

Laura