Writer's Envy

I get to read incoming manuscripts for my friend the Editor.  Lots of times I'm terribly disappointed.  This last day and a half I was entranced, fascinated, totally in to somebody else's world.  My poor kitchen was a wreck when I went to bed last night because I had to stay up and finish reading the story.

This author, in my humble opinion, has written a great story.  Her main character was believable and I followed him through his adventures from page 1 to page 316 and 80K words.  Her characters' antics made me smile and a couple of times I even laughed out loud. No raw manuscript is perfect.  This one had a flaw or two.  But all in all, the book deserves a second and third look.

I find myself hoping that someday my characters will hold a reader's attention and keep them turning pages into the night.

NEWS FLASH

**cue the official sounding music**

I have just completed my first draft of Clara's Story. 
Hurray!
Break out the Diet Coke!
Break out the chocolate!
Break out the Snoopy music!

Tuesday blues

There was too much housework and too little play. 
I'm sad to report I did not write today.
The floors all got mopped and I bit the dust
but my poor chapter ten was a bust.


Okay.  I'll admit that the smell of cleaning fluids messes with my brain.  Don't hate me for the bad poetry.  It's the most creative thing I've done all day!

Monday's writing

The good news is: I finished chapter nine of the aforementioned "Clara's Story". 
The bad news is: uhm, I kinda, sorta know what's next, but not really sure....

Yep.  My daring heroine gathered up her courage to search in the cemetery, pinning all her hopes on finding the key to her dream.  The search turned up empty.  Very sad for her.  Now she's back to square one and time is running out before the big race and the scavenger hunt grand prize.  Kind of reminds me of Charlie when it was announced that the last golden ticket had been found.

I hope I can manage to surprise and delight Clara as much as Roald Dahl did Charlie.  I can dream, can't I?!  So what's your dream?

Addendum to the day

Do you know how hard it is to write a scene happening in a graveyard while Christmas music blares away in the background?!  But chapter nine is almost finished, anyway!

Hey Natalie and Tyler -- see! I blogged about it!

In which I post my first blog post.

Catchy title, isn't it? 

Usually I can at least come up with something unique.  I'm having title problems right now and that's no lie.  What do you call a middle grade historical fiction story about a girl in 1892 who wants a bicycle but money and social restrictions stand in her way? Right now the story sits on my computer with the unlikely title of "Clara's Story".  Booooring!

I'll come up with something eventually.  Just don't expect brilliant blog titles here until I crawl out of my rut.