Athenaverse

Monday, December 31st

#104.1

Music: Bob Dylan
Mood: looking towards 2008
I said in my last post that I would inform people of the progress of the editing. I have edited by hand on a print-out but I haven't taken my edits and put them into the computer file yet. I believe that editing by hand first gives you two opportunities to look through what you have written. When I'm sitting there at a table with a pencil and paper, I'm using a different part of my editor brain. I know that this two-step editing process works for me because I reread the three chapters that have undergone the process and I am really excited about what I have written. I can honestly say that when I am finished with this edit, and then do a final manuscript formatting and final spelling and punctuation check, it will be ready to send out to agents and pubishers.

In other news, I thought about the fact that I had spent six months writing the manuscript. I started editing in October, so that means that if I keep the same timetable, the manuscript should be ready to send out by March 2008. This seems like a great goal. The sooner the better of course, but taking everything that I need to do realistically into account, it now gives me a concrete goal to work towards.

See ya next year!

santo26 on 12.31.07 @ 02:44 PM PST [link] [No Comments]

Thursday, December 20th

#103: Editation

Music: My Bloody Valentine
Mood: good!
I just put some water on for tea and thought it would be a good time to take a break and update the athenaverse. I decided to finish this edit by Christmas, and since I have five days, that's plenty of time. What had been missing for the past few weeks was energy. It is so easy to become distracted and to not focus on whatever it is you want. After I got back to Seattle after my grandfather's funeral, I kept on thinking about Boston. I gave a lot of thought to going back but I have decided to stay in Seattle and create a life that I love here. Once I committed to Seattle, my energy returned.

I am editing one chapter at a time, making separate computer files for each one. At the top is the current edited version; at the bottom is the version from the 10/07 edit. I go over the chapter a couple of times and note how many words are in the new edit each time and compare it to how many there are in the original.

The 10/07 edit was the first time that I read the manuscript as a complete whole, and it was amazing to realize that the story had gone from being in my head to being a pile of paper and existed in physical form in this universe. That one was to correct obvious spelling and grammar mistakes and anything that didn't really make sense in the context of the story. This edit, the 12/07 edit, is where I am starting to tighten things up and hack away at words, sentences, and paragraphs that sound great but aren't really necessary. It's hard to delete lines that I think sound really clever, but once I reread the chapter and see how funky the flow is, it gives me the momentum to continue.

The book that I am reading while I edit is The Elements Of Style by William Strunk, Jr. It is one of the most important books in the English language.

I just finished editing Chaper 3, leaving 17 more to go. I'll keep everyone informed of my progress in the next 5 days.

santo26 on 12.20.07 @ 06:06 PM PST [link] [No Comments]

Saturday, December 1st

#102: First Entry For December 2007

Music: Beastie Boys
Mood: it's snowing! in Seattle!
Hello folks! I went back to Boston for Thanksgiving early due to the death of my grandfather. I am dedicating the book to him and I got to tell him that even though I did not get to see him before he passed away.

Anyways, I am back at the helm of my supercomputer here. I have been spending the afternoon poring over my books for information on manuscript formatting. This next edit will be both a format edit as well as a grammar edit. The first edit I did was the first time I had read the book as a complete work. It was satisfying, but I knew I had to whittle away a good chunk of it. The editing took a little longer than I had thought, mainly because I was still weary from the process of writing it. I finished the first edit in the middle of October, and have taken another month and a half off.

One of the many things I got from my trip back to Boston was the fire to focus on getting this manuscript out of my hands and into those of an agent. My passion is writing. I am a writer. My current job is something that I do for money. I need to structure my time around my writing, not around my job. Unfortunately, it is all to easy to forget that in the day-to-day sense. I had the focus locked in for the six months that I created the manuscript. I need to get back into that zone once more and complete what I started, and what I started will not be finished until I get the book published. Before I left I created the possibility of the book being published by 11/11/2008 so I can give signed copies of the book to everyone for Christmas '08. Updating the athenaverse regularly will make it so that these promises to myself and my adoring public are up on the interweb for all to see and call me on.

If I lock in, I can get this second edit done by next Saturday, 12/8/07. I will have the first manuscript package, complete with cover letter and synopsis ready to send out to an agent of my choosing by Christmas. It will be my Christmas present to myself and the world. All I have to do is focus like the proverbial shark with a frickin' laser beam attached to its head and go for it. Doing anything else in life besides going to work or the gym (and the occasional update here) is a distraction from this task I have put before myself. Ready steady go!

santo26 on 12.01.07 @ 07:38 PM PST [link] [No Comments]

December 2007
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31