Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Perseverance

Well, it's Wednesday and I didn't pre-plan a post to auto pop up here at 5 AM! Yes, I'm slacking in my blogging duties. Ha!

I'm halfway through the final pre-query edit phase of a project I've been working on for quite a while. I'm close to reaching the 100,000 word goal, which really wasn't a goal at one point in time. I mean, the project was up to 141,000 words. My only hope was to eliminate 10 to 20K and be done with it!

Yeah, Right!

With tons of effort on my part, I have just 500 words left to eliminate to reach 100,000 words and . . . I'm only at Chapter 13! So, I figure I can probably eliminate at least 5,000 more words . . . if I"m lucky. If not . . . well, still below 100,000! Woo-hoo!

The best part about the word elimination is that it really made me take a close look at what I'd written and tighten it up. There were so many excess words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs and what-not! It's a bit unbelievable and daunting.

Still, I persevered - something all writers should do when following this crazy writing dream - and did much better than expected. Woo-hoo!

I also never gave up on this project. Yeah, I know, I haven't started the query process yet. Still, I think the main thing we all need to remember is: perseverance! Don't give up. Keep plugging away, even if the project you think is the best thing you ever wrote has to sit on the closet shelf for a few years or forever.

Things happen when they're meant to happen, and not when we want them to happen.

Perseverance!

S

4 comments:

Davin Malasarn said...

I love being in a position where I have excess words to cut down. I think it makes the story so much tighter. I'm usually the opposite. I start out with very spare writing and I end up having to flesh things out. I don't think that works as well. Good luck, Scott! I think with only 500 words to go you can pretty much call it done.

Scott said...

Davin - I've definitely tightened, and continue to tighten, the story. I'd love to call it done with just 500 words, but . . . well, there are the remaining 11 chapters to go, and I might as well make those as tight as the other chapters. I probably have a better chance of not getting auto-rejects the more below 100K I am! At least that's my hope! Ha!

Michelle D. Argyle said...

I always have to end up cutting stuff, so I know exactly how you feel. Your book will be better for this, so keep going!

Scott said...

Michelle - I know the book will be better, it's just been a frustrating ordeal, less so now that I'm just words away from 100K! Woo-hoo!