More free time please

I am learning to appreciate the power of re-writing. Yes, during my free time and while in the air I like to write. At first it was short stories I had been telling at parties for years, but had begun to forget. That lead to simple plots outside of what had happened to me. I have always enjoyed movies and good television – so I began to write scripts. A year ago, I decided to write a book.

There was never any hard core dedication – I wrote when I had ideas, or heard interesting antidotes, and slowly it began to accumulate to a respectable size. So two weeks ago, I sent it to an editor for a first read. Professional writers I know tell me that editors are invaluable and you learn a lot from the process. In fact, I was told, that writers have an awful time editing their own materials.

When it came back I had a few pages of notes and lots of marks on the manuscript. The notes were not unkind; but honest and frank like I had hoped. Parts I knew were problematic, other parts I was a bit surprised.

Last month as I finished the final chapter somewhere over Colorado on an NWA A320 flight, I got a little teary saying good-bye to these characters I had grown to love. After a few weeks off, and lots of constructive notes, I am really starting to enjoy fixing the world of these characters lived in.

It would be great to hunker down, take the next two weeks off, and really focus on making this book really good. Oh commitments and obligations! Why do you vex me so? Bills and rent, get ye behind me! Don’t you know my passion awaits in the pages of text on my laptop? If I only had a bit more time. Well, except for this time – feeding the blog monster is just as important. I have to keep my virtual friends when I am forsaking the ones that live only five minutes away. Cause that makes lot’s-o sense.