Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Whew

After a month of pouring it on (within the constraints of my schedule), the second draft of Troubled_Waters is completed. I think there's only one more minor plot problem which I'll catch in the third draft. It's now 10,000 words longer than the first draft was. I erred on the side of tight writing and deciding what to flesh out and what to leave alone was a challenge.

This time I've decided to so something a little different. I've asked my oldest son, an avid reader and aspiring writer himself, to read it for me before I go looking for anymore beta readers. I told him I want him to be looking for big holes (which I believe I've patched). If he can spot it, then it needs probably needs addressing.

This gives me an excuse to take some time off from it. I'm in danger of tinkering with it until I do more damage than good.

Simon Haynes recommended reading this agent's blog for advice on the business. I like the tone of his advice quite a bit, particularly with respect to posting a chapter of one's work on the internet. I thought it was verbotten, but apparently not. I'm not anxious to do this, it's just nice to know the option is out there.

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