Woo Hoo!

I broke 10,000 words! 10,398, to be exact.

I'm shooting for 50-60,000 words, so I'm getting there!

I Haven't Stepped on My Tack Yet

Iconic YA author Robert Newton Peck once said not to worry about titles. He claimed they would come quite suddenly, like stepping on a tack in the dark of night, and they'd be exactly the right thing.

Well, with this book, I haven't stepped on that tack yet. I haven't even got out of bed yet.

I take that back. Tonight, I haven't even GONE to bed yet. I worked on filling out a scene a little, and laid down 222 new good words.

Usually, I try not to edit scene by scene, over and over. I strive to do a complete draft, very spare in the description department, but rich in dialogal story-telling. Then I go back and add narrative, checking motivations, pumping up the emotions, and filling in accompanying actions. If I can complete this book in a draft and two edits, I will count myself extremely blessed.

However, I'm participating in an online critique group, and that usually demands rewrites of the submitted scenes to honor suggestions that work. We'll see if this plan of action turns out to be a good thing for the novel. In the meantime, I'm plugging along! Tomorrow I'll work on a needed transition I left out before.

Having Fun with the Characters

I worked on a bit of editing last night, getting one scene ready for a critique group, and filling out another on a second pass.

Marie got really angry, and it was kind of fun to see the steam building up and how she exhibited it. I knew that scene needed some tinkering on the action/reaction aspects, and I believe I finally got it right!

Whew!

Now I'm off to bed for a while (yes, I'm up late, not arising early to get kiddoes off to school).

Back to Work--again

Yesterday I returned from a week away at a Writer's Retreat sponsored by American Night Writers Association, also known as ANWA. It was quite invigorating, and I found that, despite my fears that I wouldn't be able to get in any writing time, I did. Here's a fragment:

The night before Rod Owen trailed his beef cows to the Cuchara, Marie tossed and turned. Julianna elbowed her once, then went back into slumberland, but Marie's mind seemed to bubble with imaginings like a pot boiling over a too-hot stove. It wouldn't allow her the relief of sleep.

She wondered whether she dreaded or anticipated the next few days. If Pa liked Tom's prospects and proposed to add him to the family, the young man's reaction would play a big part in Marie's future. He might accept Pa's suggestion with enthusiasm, and jump into making and carrying out plans for a wedding and a life together with Marie. If, on the other hand, Ed Morgan's son had no notion of marrying her, his disinclination could spell spinsterhood for her.

Who else was there for her to marry? She lay very still, searching every nook and cranny of her brain for prospects. She'd seen the Dominguez brothers once or twice when they had stopped in to water their horses as they traveled on their way to Pueblo town. Enrique and Patricio Dominguez cut blazingly romantic figures, with their wide-brimmed hats and differently-styled clothes, their teeth-flashing smiles and flirtatious comments. She thought the pair of them was tremendously exciting. Given the chance, which one would she choose to wed?

The characters are back in my head!