A Gobsmacking

Well, the first draft of my short story “Hoar Frost” is done!

I actually beat my self-appointed deadline by several hours. Frankly, I’m a little stunned. It’s been so long since I’ve gotten anything to this point in the writing process that I’m feeling rather gobsmacked by it all.

*pauses, considers too seriously*

Never been gobsmacked before.

I’m thinking Mr. Gob can come smack me anytime he likes.

Until tomorrow…

Chloe

The Diagnostic Dialogue

After running a complete diagnostic on each of The Hushing Days twenty chapters, I am ready to put down the cold objectivity and reach again for the creativity!

Every scene in every chapter has been heartlessly evaluated for its completeness, its right of place and its functionality as part of the whole. Weeded out thus, each scene was then tagged with…

a.) a check mark… (“You’re good to go. On to the Final Draft for you, my friend!”)

b.) a terse but polite note to please “Fill In”… (“Well, now, aren’t you the slacker? Get your fleshless bones back in line, mister! We’ve still got some meat to put on your butt.”)

or

c.) the dreaded “Add”… (“You should be ashamed of yourself! Where the heck is your head? Where are your feet? What the crap happened to your torso? You’re so full of holes, I’m ashamed to even be in your presence.”)

Yes, now that that delightful part of the process is done, I can get to the business of fixing things.

Thank goodness.

Until tomorrow…

Chloe

Rock & Rolling

Two more days and all the chapters of The Hushing Days should be once again even with each other.

All the unwieldy boulders (First Draft chapters) will be lined up side by side only a mere six inches from that big yellow finish line (that would be Final Edits).

While none of these stone behemoths will have yet made it to the Second Draft stage (yeah, that would be three inches from that imaginary but startlingly yellow finish line… please, don’t ask how my brain works), the chapters will be so use to my manhandling them around that I’m hoping they will simply surrender themselves to my clumsy machinations and simply roll a bit.

I could handle a roll.

The muse could handle a roll.

Alas, neither one of us is expecting a roll.  

*sighs*

Will keep you updated.

Until tomorrow…

Chloe

Move It!

After a day of recovery (i.e. not doing a darn thing), I am ready to jump back into the literary fracas!

Shoving, yanking, heaving, tugging, cajoling, pleading, bulldozing are all on the table today as I try to flip “The Hushing Days’” First Draft into a Second Draft and ultimately into Final Edits.

As I’ve stated before, I’m viewing each of the 20 chapters as huge boulders that need to be “maneuvered” somehow across that Final Edits finish line a mere one foot away.

So far, Chapters Six, Eight and Seventeen have been shoved, yanked, heaved, tugged, cajoled, pled with and bulldozed several inches closer to that end line.

I’d like to get two more chapters moving today.

My muse, however, is shoving, yanking, heaving, tugging and pleading for another day of recovery (i.e. not doing a darn thing).

We’ll see who wins but I’m laying bets on the party without four furry feet.

Until tomorrow…

Chloe

Post Note: If the dog figures out how to use a bulldozer, I’m out of here. Just saying.

Strike a Match

Now that the first draft of The Hushing Days is staring up at me from a ream of paper, what’s the next step?

“Put a match to it and we’ll toast s’mores!” my always helpful four-legged, furry muse quips from my side. (Her addiction to anything even smelling of chocolate is quite absurd, and needs Dr. Phil’s attention ASAP.)

Don’t worry. Nothing is being put to flames just yet. (And my dog is getting zero chocolate. Ever.) I have other plans for the draft.

I’m doing a hard read-through of each chapter, noting which scenes are completely done (i.e. connector sentences are up; grammar is A-OK; sense, style and romantic feels are present and accounted for.)

Then, I’m noting which scenes have all their skeletal bones in place but are just needing a little fleshing out (i.e. dialogue with no “he said/she said”s; descriptive bits without human frankness; etc.)

Finally, I’m then jotting down scenes I’d like to see fill out that chapter to its fullest. These are mostly tiny encounters between characters that help the flow and the overall shape of the chapter. (I always consider each chapter a work all unto itself.)

When this is done, I will either a.) rev up the writing engines once again and get very busy, or b.) bib the dog and get ready for s’mores.

Until tomorrow…

Chloe

Post Note: After HUGE thunderstorms rocked Tallahassee yesterday and left me without power for 6 ½ hours, the bonfire plan was seriously considered.  

Spent

The Hushing Days has finally claimed paper, a riotous amount of ink and paperclips aplenty.

The whole of the novel lies across my kitchen table in an inelegant sprawl reminiscent of a long-legged teenager just in from finals.

Held together with the aforementioned clips, the bulk of the manuscript rests in quite readable font on crisp and new paper.

The last three chapters, however, lie crammed in miniscule script on the back of earlier chapters, as my paper supply ran dry. Chapters 17, 18 and 19, therefore, will require a magnifying glass and possibly tweezers to edit. Well done, me.

Besides that tee-tiny glitch, the printing out of the first draft went remarkably well. Relieved to the point of shock, I followed my book’s lead and committed an inelegant sprawl myself across the couch.

Hard copy days are, well, hard… at least for someone with the mental stability of a spent dandelion in the wind.

Until tomorrow…

Chloe