Quick Update

Life is busy; which means it must be good, right? Of course!

Lately, I have been slowly finishing up novel number two. I still haven’t settled on a title. For some reason, choosing a title seems as tedious as writing the synopsis this time around. I see both, positives and negatives with this dilemma.

On one hand, not being married to a title frees me to be creative. It also means if a publisher wants to change the title I am not disappointed. On the other hand, not having a title means I tend to call my book– number two, three, etc. That doesn’t tend to invoke the creative stirrings that I like to feel when working, which in turn, slows down my progress.

So, added to my ever-growing list of things to accomplish this week, I have now added… nail down a solid working title. Wish me luck! I’ll keep you posted and let you know what I come up with.

 

Technology, My son, and Blessings

My week started by opening a file on my new software, only to need to “convert” it. This seemed harmless enough. I thought it must be good, right? WRONG! One click and everything was messed up. I lost line spacing and space between sentences.

So, needless to say, but I will anyway, I spent my week putting everything else on hold to go through my 385 page document line by line. Did I mention it was 385 pages? Just checking.

Finally, this evening I finished. I was so excited! I went to save it in another file only to paste it and lose ALL paragraph indention and sporadic spacing again! I thought I would pull every hair out of my head.

After silently placing a curse on my laptop, my sixteen year-old son walked over behind me when he heard my mumbled complaints. Reaching over he tapped a couple keys and fixed EVERYTHING! He then proceeded to show me how I could have fixed everything in the original document with the use of two keys. What took me and my lack of a technological mind a full week to fix and mess up again, he remedied in less than a minute! If you haven’t noticed by now, I am more than a little impressed with him.

Now, I could sulk and dwell on a week of time wasted. I could climb right up on my pity perch, but then I would just be wasting more time, now wouldn’t I?

Instead, I think I’m going to count my blessings.

Blessing #1: I have a sixteen year-old who is intelligent.

Blessing #2: Said sixteen year-old was willing to help his mom.

Blessing #3: He helped before I pulled all my hair out.

Blessing #4: I learned several valuable lessons.

Blessing #5: My files are now formatted and saved as I need them.

I could go on, but I think you get the picture. You know, I think the most impressive thing that touched my heart was the way he said “There ya go” and kissed my cheek before he ran out the front door to meet his friends. He didn’t brag or make me feel silly about not knowing what to do. He simply helped me in my time of distress. Now that is a blessing to remember.

 

The Great Agent Search

The hunt has begun.

The goal… find a literary agent or bust.  Well, the bust is not really being considered as an option.

I have weeded through sixty pages of agents and spent countless hours on the query letter.  Literally, I lost count.  I’m sure I’m not alone with the feeling of the query letter being harder than writing the novel.  On the upside, the more I write them, the better I become.

Finally, today I began sending out a few copies to my top picks. Today’s logged hours total up to ten.   I feel it has been a productive day.  Tomorrow I will pick up where I left off this evening.

I love my job!

 

Old Man Winter Visits Nebraska

Brrr… it is cold! But on the upside it is great for focusing on my new book. The only distraction is the wind howling across the yard and banging into the side of the house. It certainly causes me to pause and be thankful for the warm house I’m in and that the power is working. I’ve heard in some parts of the country people are fearful of losing power. I hope that will not happen.

Paul and Jared are enjoying their snow day by way of video games. I simply love having them home on days like this. Maybe we will get lucky and have another one tomorrow.

As I close this latest post, I’ve noticed the snow has started falling again. I think I’ll make a cup of hot tea and enjoy the beauty of it from the den before I start back in on editing. I’ll let you know how it goes.