You know, I always underestimate how long revisions take me to complete. I write pretty quickly on the zero draft, but then when it comes to editing and revisions, it’s a lot slower than I’d like.
Everything I’ve written seems choppy and bare when I start revising. Of course, it might have to do with the fact that my stories always grow in size by about a third when I revise. Possibly.
Anyway, the reason I’ve been thinking about this is because I’ve been working on the revisions for the first book of my next series, which as soon as I finally figure out a damn title so I can finish the cover design, I can finally announce the whole series. It’s driving me crazy not giving out details.
I’ve always had this rule that I don’t discuss a book in public until the zero draft is written and completed. It’s mostly because I don’t want to make any promises that I can’t deliver on, and being through the zero draft is basically the life or death of the book for me. If I can’t finish that very first zero draft, then that book is generally doomed, or destined to take much longer than I anticipated or planned. It’s also because I kind of think talking about it before the book is done might curse me. *shrug*
So that’s where I’m at. I’m in Revision Hell, trying to get through every crappy word and making them better. Deleting shittastic sentences and superfluous backstory and inventing delicious new visceral phrases that just make me smile when I write them. It’s both torture and ecstasy at the same time. Not sure I could explain it any better than that or if that does any justice to what I’m going through.
And yes, I’m behind where I want to be at the moment on that book. I’m still figuring this whole time management thing out with the Sucky Day Job involved. But any progress moving forward is good progress in my book. And I’m getting closer to being done, which is motivating in itself when a few weeks ago, it didn’t feel like I was ever going to be done with it.
Anyway, I just wanted to give y’all a quick update on what’s been going on in my world. I gotta get some revision pages in and then to bed so I can get up in time for Kid 2’s open house tonight, and then work after that.
Here I go. See you guys soon!
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