I realized earlier this week that I hadn’t posted to the blog in quite a while. There’s been a couple good reasons for that–took a trip to Anguilla in the beautiful British West Indies (which I plan to write about in the near future), and the bulk of my free time has been pouring into my latest editing pass on the novel.
Last post, I had just begun re-reading the book. I was pretty pleased with the outcome. On the one hand, it’s improved a lot–I’ve rooted out many of the large structural issues, there weren’t a lot of the drifting sections, the story flows along like I want it to. There’s plenty left to tighten, beef up, and otherwise improve before it’s ready for prime time, but it’s fulfilling to see how much progress I’ve made.
Anguilla was a huge boon for the writing too. Every day, I spent a couple hours of the morning with pages on the porch overlooking the water. Aside from being massively relaxing, I also got lots done, and I’ve carried that momentum into my return. Since I’ve been back, with only a few exceptions for family visits and critique group, I’ve edited a chapter a day. I’m not really working much faster than I used to, but I’m getting better at consistently putting in the time.
At this pace, my finish-line for being pitchable in August is looking good. Excellent!