What’s Up Wednesday
I don’t think I have much to update you all on today, but since I didn’t post one last week… here goes!
What I’m Reading
I’m still reading WAR AND PEACE, but I just got the new Gary Corby novel–THE MARATHON CONSPIRACY–in the mail, along with Susan Dennard’s SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY. So I might have to take a little break from W&P, because these are books that need to be read. Soon. I’ve been a fan of Gary’s since his first Athenian Mysteries novel, THE PERICLES COMMISSION. If you like mysteries and you’re interested in Ancient Greece, and you have a sense of humor, you’ll LOVE these books. As for Susan’s book… it’s been recommended and loved on so much by so many blog friends, and it has zombies. I’ve yet to read a zombie novel, and I’m intrigued to see how people write zombies (see my final A-to-Z story today for my take). Put all that together, and you have must-reading.
What I’m Writing
Still working on revisions to my novel. I have multiple Word docs open–all my Beta Reader notes (yay Team Awesome), and my main document. My process involves reading over all the Beta comments for the chapter I’m reviewing, weighing their insights, then making the necessary changes. Team Awesome also gave me lots of general comments by email, and I’m carrying those thoughts with me as I edit. I do believe this thing is taking shape. Right now, I’m hopeful I’ll have something worth querying by the time I’ve finished.
What Inspires Me Right Now
I probably said it last time, but I’ll say it again–the comments and likes on my 100-word flash fiction posts this month. Today’s the last day of the 2014 April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge. For this month’s challenge, I wrote a 100-word piece of flash fiction every day. These were fun to write, and I’m happy to see others appreciated them too. That kind of validation is nice for someone who wants to be published.
What Else I’ve Been Up To
Nothing strange or startling (or deadly). Through the A-to-Z Challenge, I’ve made some new blog friends, so it’s been fun visiting their blogs and getting to know them a bit. But mostly family, work, church, writing–same old good routine.
What have you been up to this week? If you’d like to join in this blog hop, visit the blogs of the founders, Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk, for details.
I really enjoyed SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY, hope you like it too! And I’m really impressed by your dedication to the A-to-Z Blogging Challenge!
Good luck with your revisions, you can dooooo it!
Thank you, Elodie! I have high hopes for Susan’s book, I’ve heard so many good things.
Congratulations on completing the A to Z challenge once again. That’s an impressive amount of writing and dedication, Colin 😀
Thanks, Cole–it was a lot of fun to do. 🙂
Best of luck with your revision, Colin! Sorting it all out, applying feedback, and making it shine are my favorite parts of the writing process. Sending you all the positive revision vibes I can spare. 🙂 And awesome job completing the A-Z Challenge! I know I’ve said this a thousand times, but your flash fiction rocks. Congratulations!
I’m enjoying the revision process, even if it is a bit slow-going. But you know what the proverb says about slow and steady… 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed the flash fiction, Katy. Thanks for reading. 🙂
Good luck with the revision process, Colin!!! I really love revisions (way more than drafting… my poor friends have to deal with emails that say “is it revision time?” every day that I draft…LOL). And I’ve heard great things about Susan’s series but haven’t read yet.
Thanks, Rachel. This round of revisions–hopefully the last before querying–certainly feels good since it seems the story’s getting some polish, and I know what needs to be done. 🙂
Have you ever read I AM LEGEND by Richard Matheson? The “creatures” in it are sort-of a cross between zombies and vampires. It’s definitely one of the most unsettling books I’ve read.
I haven’t read I AM LEGEND, Jennifer–thanks for the tip. When I’m next in the mood for “unsettling,” (which does happen, occasionally), I’ll keep it in mind. 🙂
I really want to read Something Strange and Deadly, it sounds fantastic!
Wow, writing a 100-word flash fiction piece every day is a great achievement! I’m impressed!
Best of luck with the revisions! 🙂
Thanks, Emma. I’ve enjoyed writing the stories, and been greatly encouraged by the comments. 🙂
I’m still amazed that you wrote that many flash fiction pieces. Very, very impressive! I’m so ridiculously wordy that I doubt I’d ever be able to write flash fiction. Though, that might be a great way to tease out some ideas for a full-length story.
Sounds like you have a good system going for your revisions. I often found that my critique partners had similar things to say about my story, so that made it easy to figure out what things needed to change. Usually they were able to zero in on something that had always bothered me, but I couldn’t quite pinpoint. Are you finding that, too? Anyway, best of luck on continuing with your revisions. Have a great week, Colin! 🙂
I tend toward the verbose, which is why flash fiction is good for me. You should try it sometime, Jaime. It’s fun and really challenges you to think about every single word.
Yes, there are lots of overlapping comments, which is really good. Even better is that I agree with most of them, so that cuts down the agonizing. 🙂 And I think these changes will take the novel to a better place, which is something I’ve felt needed to happen, but wasn’t 100% certain what was missing.
Thanks!! You, too! 😀
Your A-Z flash fiction has been so great!
I’m not a zombie fan at all but I really enjoyed Something Strange and Deadly and the sequel as well. But then, I love the historical element like crazy.
Thank you so much, Melanie! 😀 SS&D will be my first zombie book, and it sounds as if it was a good choice. 🙂
I’ve been meaning to read SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY for ages now. Susan Dennard always gives such helpful writing advice over at Pub Crawl that it seems only logical to read her books. I have to confess, I’m not a huge fan of zombies (with a few exceptions), but her novels sound appealing.
Sounds like things are coming along nicely with your WIP! Best of luck with your revisions!
I’ll post a review on here or Goodreads, so maybe that will help you decide whether it’s something you’d want to read. I’m primarily interested to see how she handles zombies, but you’re right, she’s full of useful tips online, so I’d like to see how she applies her own advice! 😉
Thanks for your encouragement, Erin! 😀
Good luck with revisions! I’m right there with you. Have a great weekend!
Thank you, Amy! It’s good to know I have company. 🙂
Oooh, those sound like good books. I haven’t read anything by either Gary Corby or Susan Dennard. I’ll have to add them to the list. So many books, so little time! Good luck on your revisions. Have a great week!
It’s true, Kitty. I probably own more books than I have time to read! I can’t speak for Susan’s book yet, but having read the previous three Gary Corby books, I can vouch for their excellence. 🙂
Thanks!
Good luck with your revisions! Your process sounds a lot like mine. I like viewing all the comments side by side before deciding what to change. It’s time consuming, but definitely useful. Have a great weekend!
Thanks, Tracey! It probably does take a little longer to revise the ms that way, but I like to be sure I’ve considered every comment. 🙂
Yay Team Awesome! I was definitely in good company there. 🙂 Good luck on your revisions! Your process (multiple Word docs open) sounds like mine on my last round. I’m trying to figure out something more streamlined for this round, but got nothing so far. If you think of anything, pass it on!
Awesome company, Kris, and I’m so thankful for all your comments. I asked for brutal honesty from all of you, and that’s what I got. And I think my novel is better for it. 🙂
The only way I think I can improve on my revision process is to have multiple monitors so I don’t have to flip from doc to doc. That’s not happening anytime soon, so for now I’m flipping between you all. 🙂
Thanks!!