Hello everyone! *tired waving* I'm going to keep this short, since I already posted today over at A Writer's Faith (and you should totally check it out).


Just wanted to bop in here so good ole' Stan doesn't get offended. He's getting bigger by the day, isn't he? *pats keyboard fondly*

Anyway. Nano. Right.

So far, I have ...


1) Ranted to a writer friend about me being afraid to write and learned ... It's okay if people read bad stuff from you. It is okay if your betas do not read perfection. That's not what they're for, anyway. They are there to read what you have and help you make it better.


2) Made a new writer friend (Hi, Petra!) and become aware of our very small world. She is awesome and is an epic word warrior and her blog is beautiful so you should go read it now. Yeah. Read all of it. Right now. (Stan will forgive you for leaving. Just make sure you come back at some point to apologize. Gifts of coffee beans are welcome also.)


3) Lowered my word goal for camp nano to 50k. And I'll probably end up lowering it another 10k, at least, because I am so stuck right now. It's not even funny. *sighs heavily and goes to drink all the coffee in the house*


4) Been a lazy turd muffin.

Yup. You heard me. I'm lazy and I'll admit it. I have spent more than one word war this week curled up in the chair with my WIP's music booming and playing Sudoku and I am not ashamed know it was not the best way to get stuff done like I told myself it was and have accepted that Sudoku is the best thing ever and really good for brainstorming I will only get stuff done if I get my butt to work and ... get stuff done. Because that just makes so much sense.

I am learning so much more and growing lots as a writer through this book I'm writing. Because I've also learned ...

5) Editing is hard, guys. So is rewriting. Rewriting is the Worst Thing Ever. (okay, there might be a few worse things, like coffee deprivation and no air conditioning, BUT IT'S STILL HORRENDOUS.)

But seriously. When you finish the first draft, this new pressure falls on your shoulders. Suddenly, you can't just look at a plot hole and say, "Oh, I'll fix it later." You can't just change POVs in the middle of the chapter and say, "Oh, I'll fix it later." Because suddenly now is the later. And you've got a whole lot of issues and things that need to be seen to in your story that you simply can't put off any more.

Which leads to my little bit of advice for today (aside from what I think about book blurbs).

It's okay if your first draft is terrible. We all know that (well, we should. If you didn't, now you do).

But you know what?

It's also okay if your second draft is terrible.

Yeah, I said it. We all want the next draft we write to be better, of course. But, just like we can't make a perfect book our first try, we can't do it on our second try either (well, most people can't. And if you can, you need to keep your mouth shut and just ... leave. Right now. Before I slap you or do something else I am supposed to will regret). It could take you eight times to produce a good book, and that is O K A Y. Okay? Take a deep breath and just ... chill. I am talking to myself us much as I am to you. Editing is hard. And it's going to take a lot of time and work to make your book as good as I know it has the potential to be.

Editing is a real test of perseverance for a writer. Editing is when the fun stops and you have to take a hard look at your manuscript ... and yourself. Is this really what you want to do? Do you really want to tell this story?

I hope you'll say yes to these questions, and that you'll keep saying yes. Because, though writing is hard, it is beautiful. And, as I like to say, the things in life that bring the most satisfaction, that are the most magnificent and beautiful and amazing, are the things that are hard to do.

How's Camp Nano going for you guys? Is anyone still alive? *pokes the readers with pencil* Comment your state of awareness and I'll send you appropriate survival necessities like chocolate and coffee. *showers you all in coffee beans*