For Lent I Gave Up Excuses

For Lent, I gave up excuses.

I decided to buckle down and write 500 words a day for 40 days. This would result in my manuscript reaching 28,000 words by Easter.

Here’s how that turned out…

There were nights (I write almost exclusively after dark) I would write 1,500 to 2,000 words and keep almost all of them. I would also write 1,000 words and keep just 800 – or fewer – of them. One night I wrote the most perfect 283 words – so perfect, in fact, that I shut down my computer and went straight to bed, denying my inner editor the chance to mess with such heartbreaking beauty. The next day, miracle of miracles, they were still perfect.

This morning, I looked over all I had made, and I saw that it was good.

But I did not see 28,000 words.

Maybe it’s because I’m a lapsed Catholic and not very good at giving up stuff.

But here’s the thing. I’m okay with that. You know why?

Because I wrote. I wrote a lot. More importantly, I read my work at my writers’ groups. I got feedback, and I utilized that feedback to make my writing better (thank you, Melinda, Marcy, David, DeBanne, Pat, Suzanne, Edith, Kim, Susan, Dee, Kate, Lynne, Kayla, Carol, Linda, Amy, Belinda, Mac, Burt, Renee, and last – but by no means least – my incredibly talented fellow author and daughter, Rhiannon).

I am well on my way to finishing my first draft by Labor Day. Then on to editing, query letters, and finally publication. Yes, I am “assuming the sale,” as they say in the sales profession (of which I was once a bright and shining star). Why wouldn’t I be able to sell this fascinating mystery, with its engaging characters, unique plot (and confounding subplot!), and laugh-out-loud humor?

If you’re interested in getting first peeks at the book, please be sure to sign up for email updates. I’ll be posting an excerpt later this week!