I'm feeling really bloody good today. A combination of things -- sitting out in the sunshine with my favourite tea, looking over my MS at 7:30 this morning, planning out my day; getting a surprisingly lovely email from one of my betas; feeling really damn connected with this bloody story and it just all coming together in just the right way at just the right time... It's not that gut churning hype that I often get on a Good Day, but a softer, warmer -- and actually more pleasant -- sort of happiness that is just sort of sitting with me today.
I'm feeling zen about my struggle with the beginning, too. It's just something I'll need to come back to later on. No need to either think or worry on it now.
Another pleasant surprise I've found today is the usefulness of my half-draft I cobbled together during Camp. Now I'm in present tense and utilizing flashbacks more, a lot of the background of my parental characters are cropping up, and I'm finding myself referring back to Shores much more than I thought I would. It's really bloody nice to realise it wasn't a waste of two weeks! I don't know if I've said this before on here, or just to Sarah, but the development of Aurelia and Lysandis from draft to draft are the characters I'm most pleased with and have gone through the most growth. I'm really thinking I can do them justice now.
Spending some time starting to network beyond NaNo too, just starting small with the Facebook group for The Write Life. Apart from one guy who tried to convince me that his blatantly clip-art cover was made by a professional graphic designer from one of the top publishing houses (and blocked me when I asked which!) they seem like a nice bunch :)
Draft Four currently standing at 16k. Written less this week than last, but feeling very happy with the way it's going.
It's nice to have one of those days where you feel at peace with yourself, but especially with your manuscript. That means you are doing something right - and that emotion will reflect in your writing. Always write along with your heart :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I give you two thumbs-up for having the courage to start another draft of your novel in a new tense. That is so....just brave. You can do this!
Haha it took a lot -- a helluva lot -- of thinking through to decide if it would actually be worth it!! Luckily, it turns out it is!! The best thing to do is to follow your instincts; they're usually right when it comes to writing!
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