Anne Faye

I crossed the 12,000 word mark tonight. I'm currently at 12, 157. My friend said that editing my story would take about a month. Honestly, I'm a bit scared. She is really an incredibly intelligent woman - probably one of the most intelligent women I've ever met. I warned her that my story was of the "popular-fiction" type - nothing erudite in there. But what if she thinks it is totally stupid? What if she thinks that it is one of the worst stories she has ever read? How will I ever face her again? I know - that is just my pride talking. But still - ugh! This is nerve-racking. Why did I ever think I could write novels?

Part of me really wanted to blow off writing today, but I did it anyway. Not much, I admit, but I added about 200 words.

With no work tonight, I ended up writing about 800 words tonight. I'm writing dialog for an extrovert which is a bit of a challenge for me because I am such an introvert. Just writing her talking so much tires me out! LOL

I had taken the past two days off from writing. I was licking my wounds a bit after my rejection. I went back to it today, though, and wrote about 500 words. I also hired an editor to take a hatchet to my other story. I debated back and forth on this one. I absolutely hate spending money on myself, especially in a case like this when it feels like I'm just sending it off into the wind. There are so many other, more important, things to spend money on. I enjoy helping other people, though, so I'm trying to think of it in that light. I hired a friend who has just started an editing business, so I am helping her get her business off of the ground. I told her to be brutal. I really do want to improve in my writing. I hope that she can help me. 

Not that there is really any such thing, but I did receive what in the writing world is considered a "good" rejection today. The editor who was considering my novella said that it just wasn't quite ready yet, although it was an interesting concept. She feels I should have someone critique it, rework it, and then resubmit. She even took the time to send me a marked-up first chapter. I do greatly appreciate her time and feedback, and she even got back to me within the promised three-month time frame. So, overall, I was pretty lucky! I'm not sure where to go from here, but I don't need to decide today. I really wasn't expecting an acceptance, so I'm not very disappointed. I've been praying to write what I should when I should and have things published when and if they should be, so this must have been what was supposed to happen. It isn't the end of the world.  

The American Music Awards are not the most conducive background for writing, but I did get out a few hundred words and crossed the 10,000 word threshold which was my goal for the evening. I'm 1/8th done.

My main character is about to give birth in 1958. I didn't do any writing tonight, but I did watch this fascinating childbirth education video from the 1950s: http://www.theunnecesarean.com/blog/2010/11/1/1950-video-labor-and-childbirth.html