As an initial issue, someone needs to explain Daylight Savings Time to my alpha cat/alarm clock.
This is going to be one of my most "down" weeks, speaking/grading-wise, and I'm planning to take full advantage of that to write, write, write. I'm getting momentum now--closing in on the voice of my new co-protagonist, figuring out the finer points of the story arc.
In sum, the third E rewrite is starting to feel like a mss again. It took me a while to really get going because I had to change out a fantasy element and a co-protagonist. The good news is that I'm waaay past the dreaded page 30 (anyone can write about 30 decent pages of a novel, which is why three-chapter critiques and queries can be so misleading). Research topics on Sunday included: Madame Defarge, Christie's, and Chinatown Chicago.
At dinner that night, GLS mentioned in passing that if you look at my gothic fantasy YA as its own beast (not counting my tweener, Rain Is Not My Indian Name (HarperColllins, 2001)), E essentially is my sophomore novel. Scary news that.
The danger of first novels is that there tends to be too much of oneself in them. The danger of second ones is that there tends to be not enough--they're often rushed to meet a deadline that you would've killed for a couple of mss ago but now may kill you.
I could feel Fearmiser sinking his claws in my spine, so I sent one of my vampires to eat him. I know he'll rise again, but I feel better for now.
Amazing day today! Fourteen pages written! My all-time best production rate. Research topics included: Elton John, Byron, and crematoriums.
Off to watch "Northern Exposure," season one. Of course I'm the only person who thought the show got better when Shelly Tambo started singing.
