Read Through Blahs Pt. 2

Well I'm almost finished my read through and I know I have to rework the beginning BIG TIME. It is soooo chopped up due to the contest entries etc., that I lost the soul of the story. Frankly, I am having trouble liking the story or even trying to pitch it at the conference. I have plenty of ideas about pitching the fourth book. I have decided to work on that one in June and see where it is by the conference. If it feels like the better book, I'm pitching it instead. Or getting it ready for the back up should 3 get shot down.

Number 3 doesn't feel like my book anymore. But I guess all authors go through that pain at some point of the process.

I had a bit of an epiphany last night/early this morning. I realized that once this one is out the door, in a way, I am liberated from it for a while so I am very motivated to get it out to editors. So I am very motivated to accomplish that goal.

Now, a few blogs to read and then --- drum roll --- the last pages of the book.

Read Through Blahs

Well I started reading through the third MS and BLAH BLAH it is sooo good in places, but the first 25 pages have been tweaked so often, I can't see the forest for the trees. I am not stopping to edit, but following April Kihlstrom's advice and going all the way to the end, making notes about global changes and catching small edits along the way. My writing buddy sent back 106 pages with great critiqe so I am incorporating her thoughts as well.

I have figured out how to get the hero and heroine together without him coming off as sleazy or as a rutting deer -- and I think making that fix will go a long way to helping me recover the proper pacing for the story. The first chapter is way to choppy... probably because I've hacked it to bit sooo many times for contests to fit page counts etc.

LESSON LEARNED. Different cuts for contest and no using contest cuts in revisions!!

Now, a quick check on the other blogs I follow and hi ho hi ho it's back to slogging through the manuscript I go....