The Most Exciting Part

Guess what?!

I finally got to The End in the book I've been writing!*

It takes me F-O-R-E-V-E-R to write a first draft. Eleven months for this one. And I really, really, really love this book.

(This isn't me, but you can pretend it is, since it's so clever!)

I'm ecstatic and relieved that I'm to this point, because it takes me to the most exciting part--- Editing and Revising!

That wasn't written with any sarcasm. It really is the best part. It's when I get to take this thing that is finally real and whole and tangible, and then make it into something even better. Editing is like a drug. It feeds a small but constant stream of pure thrill through your veins that you just can't seem to get enough of.

I've written out a plan for the next four months and taped it to my desk. The plan says this month I am editing like a crazy obsessed person, starting today. This, obviously, is not how I write, so I'm going to have to bind and gag the part of me that constantly whispers about all the other things I should be doing, and toss her in the corner.

Because the master plan says I hand it all over to Beta Readers in a month.

If you're ever curious as to how it is going, I've got the progress bars over there on the left if for no other reason than so I can see my progress. I've also got to get the word count close to 50,000, so I'll list how it goes with each revision. My critique group has seen all but the last two chapters, so everything has been through Revision 2. I can handle tough critiques like nobody's business, but it's not like I'm going to give it to them without revising it all I can first! Part of the book has already gone through Revision 3 as well, taking my critique groups suggestions into consideration. How many revisions will it take? I dunno. Five? Six? Ten, maybe?

I guess I'll know in thirty days.


*The book is called Through the Bomb's Breath, and it's about a twelve-year-old girl whose town lives in one of the giant craters left behind by the "green" bombs of WWIII that wiped out virtually all the earth's population. A group of bandits attack the town, taking it hostage, and the girl has to escape with a couple of her friends to save the town.