I Have This Idea...

… of how I want my novel to look. And by look, I mean read. I mean Feel. I know exactly what I want out of it. The work is the process of getting it there. The work is training myself to think, speak, and write in the verve I expect out of my novel. And I can tell you, with draft 3 complete and 4 in the process, I’m not even close. That sounds totally depressing, doesn’t it? Well it’s not. Because I know what I want, I have every confidence that I’ll eventually get there – and by extension, so will my novel.

The process of this is really rather cool, because for every one thing I learn, that’s one mistake I won’t make as often in the future. Once I learn how to create the kind of book I want to produce, I’ll be able to do it again. Or so I imagine. And hope.

In the process, I have to keep reminding myself of the things people have said along the way to cheer me on. All the way back to creative writing in college, when my classmates were enthralled by a short story that I now think is terrible. I have to keep telling myself that if my then-good-work is now bad, that means I’m moving toward great. Just the direction, not the proximity. But I will get there. And I will remain hopeful and not depressed along the way.

So to all my fellow blogging writers, cheers to optimism. Whether we ever get published or not, we’re always improving. I know most of you love your craft as much as I love mine, so becoming better writers should be enough. Publication would be the icing. The sweet, sweet icing.

Oh, and if you don’t follow How Publishing Really Works then click that link for today’s blog about what editors want. It cheered me up, because what they want is exactly what I want to produce in ms form.
“What editors want, more than ANYTHING else in the world, is for someone to delight them.” -Osiander

Cheers!
-Anette