MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Yesterday I noticed that Chapter 9 was getting very, very long. It was 17 pages single spaced (about 30 pages). I remembered, though, a spot where I said, "Hey, that sounds like an ending, but I have so much more to include." So I went back, just before the last day of summer school, and made that "ending" the ending of Chapter 9 and made what was left into Chapter 10. It seemed to work really well, and now I have 128 pages in the novel and about 5 chapters to go. The length should work out just about right.

Not a bad way to start a vacation.

I'm taking the laptop to Big Bear. With any luck, I'll have some of Chapter 11 done by the time I return.

See you in a week or so.

NOVEL WRITING IN BIG BEAR

Summer school is over tomorrow. My family and I leave for our annual vacation tomorrow; this year it' s a week in a cabin in Big Bear in the mountains. I was hoping to finish Chapter 9 of the YA novel this week before we left. I'm close and will try to hammer out the final scene tomorrow before school (my typical writing time), but it's going to be close. Overall, I think it's going well, but Chapter 9 is much longer than all the other chapters (I estimate the first draft will come in at 14 chapters). I'm not sure if this chapter is longer because climactic things are occuring (which they are) or because I'm just rambling and trying to cram too much in. It'll all come out in rewrite, as they used to say. I'm hoping to write Chapter 10 in Big Bear and/or before the new school year begins. Then I'll knock out the final four in the Fall.

That's the plan, anyway.

GOIN' BACK ON MY WORD

Silly me. I spent the week bitching and moaning because someone wrote a book with the same premise as mine and I was just about resigned to the fact that the manuscript was going to sit in a drawer for the rest of my natural life, when I get the mail Saturday and there is a letter from The Nancy Ellis Literary Agency (see Posting entitled "Dubious Agent #42) saying, "We requested your manuscript, but we have yet to receive it. We will keep your file open for thirty days and then recycle your materials." I took it as a sign because NOBODY bothers you about sending them your manuscript. Nobody. "Unless they're hurting," as my wife said. After some research, I see that they have revamped their accounting process and the author's money goes straight to the author. In their "Selected Titles" link, they list many authors whose books they have sold to Major Publishing Houses. At any rate, after CONTINUING to hound my wife and friends about this issue, they all said, "Send the book. Otherwise, it's just going in a drawer, right?" (My wife and friends are so empathetic about my writing! :)

So I went back on my word and sent the book. For awhile, I tried to listen to my gut and see if I was getting any kind of spiritual guidance about whether or not to send the book. Nothing. But now that I've sent it, my gut is telling me that I've set something in motion.

Exactly what, I'm not sure. We'll see. The process is such that most likely the response will come back and it will say something like, "Interesting idea, but not quite right for us."
Whatever. I'm still writing. You can't stop me.