Well, the official Dragon Wagon, is now the official Puppy Wagon.

Yesterday, two friends and I went out and traded in my ’98 Plymouth Grand Voayger for a ’99 Saturn LS2. One of the guys used to work for Saturn, so he looked it over top to bottom and gave it high marks. The brakes need some work, but I think he wants to work on those this morning. So, that’s all cool.
He’s a standard (the car- who’s name is Raphiel, by the way), so my other bud took me around in him to teach me how to drive a stick. It’s not so bad, after all. Yesterday I took him out by myself and drove down to catch a bite with a couple friends and show him off to them and a couple more. It was a good evening, and by the time I got back home, I almost felt comfortable shifting.
Besides the brakes, the only things Raph needs are a new headliner and all new speakers. The previous owner blew them all out. It’s the one thing we didn’t check on our test drive. But, the radio and cd player work fine. There’s no tape deck, though, so no more listening to the Ipod while I drive :P.

So that’s it about that. I’ll make another post about the writing.

The Joys of Editing

Not that many authors have complained within earshot about the work of editing what they have written- about the long hours spent sifting through a manuscript for inconsistencies, punctuation and spelling issues, lulls and repetition- but, I've found the process to be somewhat exciting. Now, I get to add all the really cool bits- those things that make a story come to life for me. You know, it feels like the shooting is done, and now it's time to add all the special effects.

Sketch Draft Done

I like to call the first draft of my manuscript a sketch. There are thin lines connecting all of the points and large areas of space open for details and expansion. After the initial layout comes the ink- when plots and subplots are definitively set. Then the pencil marks go away and flourishes add the personal touch to the world. After all of this, the technical aspects of my manuscript enjoy a tidying and tightening, and it's off to my test readers. After that, it's post production, final edits, and submission.
Why do I share this? Well, Piggy Moto volume II: Accidental Activist is completely sketched. Since NaNoWriMo is still going on, I'm gonna jump right into book three. This time, Corbin is the MC.

In Full Swing

November is half over. That means, NaNoWriMo (the National Novel Writing Month) is in full swing. Pretty much all of my free time has been devoted to writing the next Piggy Moto manuscript, and last night, I crossed the 50,000 word mark. The story is halfway complete, and I honestly have no idea how it's gonna end.

All Star Boar Band is in the hands of an editor right now, though I am afraid to say just who- for fear of jinxing myself. Suffice it to say, I'm waiting to hear back from the publisher, and I'm doing so on pins and needles.

Wish me luck.

Submission Lockdown

The good part is that this particular manuscript has slipped through the gauntlet of snares that traps up a vast majority of written works in this world. With lucky timing and tons of support, I managed to pique the curiosity of an editor and get my pages into her hands. While there is still a vastly greater chance that this novel will be rejected rather than published, it's chances fall within the integer levels. This is extremely encouraging.

Now, the down side of this fact is that I feel bound by etiquette not to submit my manuscript to anyone else until the official rejection has been delivered. (Okay, okay, rejection OR approval) I've read that a good time to wait is 6 weeks. Well, week one= gone.

To my close friends who may be reading this, please forgive my return to these following points. I feel that if I do not constantly remind myself of then, then I will go crazy with worry. Besides that, Isn't it better to write my thoughts out here than to sit in front of Yahoo Mail hitting [refresh] [refresh] [refresh].

A couple sources have said that most outright rejections come within the first two weeks. They say that if an author doesn't hear from an agent or editor in two months, then a followup e-mail is not inappropriate. This tells me that news should definitely come by the time the NaNo novel is all sketched out. So, the wait should not be terrible. Not after next week, anyway.

NaNoWriMo starts in only a couple weeks, so while there might be enough time to write a short story, I must not start writing my next novel yet. This causes must frustration. Though, come to think of it, there are other works in progress that can be continued or rewritten.

101k and it's all done

Final edits tool longer than I'd originally anticipated. The nineteenth of September was supposed to be my submission date, and here I sit, nearly a month later- finally done.

Three brave souls lent me their time and patience as test readers, and to them I extend my deepest, most heartfelt gratitude. Jenn, Corey, Laird, y'all are angels.

Also, extra props to Mr. Bruce W. Williams. Thanks for all the insight and guidance, Bruce! You helped breathe life and reality into this story. Best wishes to you and yours.

I'll give the last couple chapters one last read through this evening, but Monday morning, I submit this monster.

Constant Second Thoughts

Editing is a pain in the ass. Every morning, I get back to it and look over the previous page just to get my bearings. It is without fail that new errors and oversights present themselves each day, despite how carefully the pages were read the morning before. There are days when the whole process just seems overwhelming and hopeless.

I mean, I wrote a novel about pigs. Where the heck could that go? Besides, I've taken so long editing it, there's no doubt that my window of opportunity has closed by now.

Well, this weekend was definitely one of those times. My niece turned three, and my sister invited me down to celebrate. I packed up everything that would come in handy editing and headed down after work Friday. It was really nice to get away from Austin for a while, see my family and old friends. It was a lot of fun, but I got zero editing done.

My good friend Mary (she's working to be a teacher there in Houston) had invited me out for a couple drinks Friday night, and then Saturday Morning, we headed out to the Katy Mills mall (probably by favorite mall in the world). There is a really neat Asian decor shop there with a wall that's full of Chinese New Year stuff. I make it a point to hit that store every time I visit, and usually find something great to walk out with.

Well, I'd not gotten anything productive done all morning before meeting up with Mary, so doubt and self-admonishment weighed heavily on my mind. Mary and I had wandered through several stores before we got to that one, and I had just decided not to buy any more year of the rabbit or year of the pig stuff when she asked, "Did you see that they have a guitar playing pig?"

Sure enough, there on one of the sale displays stood a fat, jubilant boar in a suit and hat playing a mandolin with a gold earing in one ear. And, he was 30% off. A sign from the heavens? Is there still a shot?

So, Yesterday, I passed the 300 page mark, and only have 200 left to edit before the towel officially flutters to the floor. There have been two rewrites, three test readers, two full edits, and then this half-done polishing run. After this, it's done. Finished. Complete. Sure, there will still be a typo or two, I'm sure of it, but the book must be finished at some point, else I'll just edit it into oblivion.

I want to see this book published. Every effort has gone into making it as strong as possible, and even fate seems to offer encouragement. Intuition says, "Go."