Today seems like a good day for an update. Why? Because I have some great news to share. My young adult time travel romance WISHING YOU WERE HERE finaled in the RWA Golden Heart contest! This is RWA's "biggie" contest of the year for unpublished writers, so I am delighted my manuscript made the cut.

Today is also a good day for an update because I was just thinking recently that it's been a while since I wrote about my writing progress.

Yes, I finished a new MS back in February, but that doesn't mean it's vacation time. Nope, it means it's time to start the next project. I did give myself a week or so off to just relax, but by March 1 I was ready to dive back in.

My new manuscript is the YA suspense I'd fooled around with for NANO. March has been the "planning" phase. I'm hoping to start into the first draft in April. I'd like to finish that first draft by the end of June. I'm using Todd Stone's "Novelist's Boot  Camp" for inspiration and also reading "How to Write Killer Fiction" by Carolyn Wheat to strengthen my knowledge of mystery and suspense. You can never stop trying to improve your craft as a writer.

So, that's where things stand this month. I probably won't post again until next month when I have something tangible to report on.

Cathy

That's right! I'm finally done.   At approximately 1:30pm today I wrote THE END on the SAINTS AND SINNERS revised manuscript. Hallelujah!

Now I'm going to do a little moderate celebrating, be good to myself for a few days, then start gearing up for my next project, the YA paranormal I've tentatively called SWINGS AND PENDULUMS.

I'll post again when that is underway.

I'm in the final stretch now! I'm on the final polish, doing one last read-through of the entire MS cover to cover. I'm almost halfway through and (crossing my fingers) hope to have it ready to go around the 15th! YAY!!!!!

I'll be so happy when this is DONE!

C.

Yippee! I'm on the tail end of Chapter 26 now. One more chapter to go and then the epilogue, which I'm pretty sure needs very little editing. Keeping my fingers crossed I can wrap this up next week, by the 15th at the latest. Happy Valentine's Day to me!

I realize I haven't posted in a while (holidays and all), but I HAVE been working. I took the week of Christmas and New Year's off, but the other weeks I did my writing like I should.

I'm almost at the end. I'm so excited.   I just finished chapter 23. (I estimate there'll be about 25-26 chapters before I have to go back and do one final polish). So, two weeks maybe? (fingers crossed).

I'll post again when I've completed chapter 24.

C.

ps: Please note that if you leave comments to this blog, they are moderated so you won't see your comment appear right away. Unfortunately damn spammers keep trying to post their stupid URLs for crap, so I can't leave the comments open.    This is what I think of spammers!

Up to chapter 23 now. We're cruisin'!






C.

Well, the end is getting closer. I can't wait.

Here's where we are now. Just finished Chapter 21. Looks like 120,000 words, though, for this pass on the MS is going to be ambitious. So, setting a new goal to try to keep it under 125, 000. In my next pass, I'm sure I'll be able to trim some wordy sections down.

So here's how things stand today:

Revisions are up to:




The end's in sight....

Cathy

Revisions are going great! I think I'm at my favorite part of the book where it's all about to come crashing down and then somehow the characters will make it out okay. LOL!

Well, NANO got off to a good start, but I've only made a little progress since the 1st. Here's how the YA looks. Better than nothing I suppose.




I really just want to get the revisions on the RS done. I'm doing really well there. Up to chapter 19 now. I'd like to finish it before the 15th, and maybe enter it into the RWA Golden Heart contest.



'Til next time...

C.