Exactly A Week

A week from today, we’ll be on our way to Canada.

The route has been mapped out, reservations made, and food planned. Al spoke with the outfitters who will take us to our “put in site” and then drive our car back to their parking lot in Slocan. It’s still wet, but the weather is changing and we will be playing around in Whistler, BC a few days before we head over to Slocan Lake.

However, we are expecting some wet days and some dry days and are planning accordingly.

“What’s new?” I ask myself as I gaze out at the drizzle that is gently coating our deck and making the new growth on the redwoods flourish. (Note to self: pack 2 extra fleeces.)

We still have about half of our things-do-do-list left to do. But we’ve got a week. Our number one goal and plan for this afternoon is to learn our new GPS system. We bought a Magellan, mainly because it is similar to the Magellan GPS we use in our car. Faster learning curve.

MY PERSONAL GOAL is to finish the first draft of my novel. I am sooooooo close. I’ve been waking up around 5:30 – 6:00 and writing for about 3 hours or so.

I don’t set the alarm to get up. My Personal Muse pries open my eyes and boots me out of bed. Said Muse then leads me to the coffee machine (which I adore and could write a whole blog about it, but I won’t–it’s a Keurig.) (Note to self: write a whole blog on the Wonders of My Keurig.) I get my coffee and then my Muse plops me down onto the sofa, forces me to pick up my lap top, plops a cat onto my lap–God knows why–and my day begins.

If I can get this first draft done, I can relax, enjoy our adventure, return home refreshed and ready to dig into the nitty gritty of re-write after re-write. There’s a reason that the first draft is also called the rough draft. It’s as rough as sandpaper; all splintery.

I liken the second phase–the many re-write phase–as the middle phase in a painting. The painting has been drawn and the underpainting set, but now is the time for the layers and layers of paint application which builds that lovely luminosity one sees in a fine oil painting. The more layers, the more luminous and the more real. It’s a lot of work and takes its own sweet time.

How much you are willing to blend with this phase–accepting the critiques from your alpha/beta readers and patiently re-working your story–will determine the outcome of your story. The more you work it, the more luminous it will be, and the more satisfying the read for the reader. Not everyone will enjoy your story, but wouldn’t it be nice if they all thought it was well written?

We shall see how well I do with this phase. But first….the sandpaper draft must be completed and so, I’ve taken my little chatty-blog-break (thanks for listening) and now must get back to my writing.

My Muse is looking at her watch and tapping her foot.

Oh, and now she’s glowering.

I’d better go.