Doubts and dark clouds

Editing. It ain't easy. You finish the first draft and are filled with such elation - you've done it! Written a whole book! And sure, it's flawed, but nothing a little judicial editing won't fix, right? Right? Erm, wrong.
I am very lucky, I have had some great feedback, thoughtful, measured, intelligent feedback. That's positive. The amount of work required? Not so positive! These chapters don't work, this plot line seems superfluous. Worst of all my hero needs to man up, he is actually annoying readers. So what to do? Rewrite this little book of mine which was only an experiment anyway, grit my teeth and carry on? Or return to the historicals where a man's breeches gives him immediate Alpha points...
I hate to give up, but nor do I want to waste valuable writing time on a book that just might not be worth it.
On the bright side I start the Jessica Hart course on Weds where I hope to find answers to all these doubts and find some light in the dark clouds that have dimmed my confidence.
I just want to say thanks to my lovely readers - you know who you are. Your comments, thoughts and suggestions might be causing me some sleepless nights right now but my writing, plotting and characters will all be stronger for it one day. Honest feedback, the most important tool an aspiring writer can have.

Dates and Deadlines

How can a person be simultaneously hardworking and lazy, driven and a procrastinator? Easy if, like me, you are a deadline follower. Give me a project and an end date and I'll get it finished, there may be a few hours wasted on Facebook followed by an all-nighter or two but I'll make it, possibly with an hour or so to spare - although I did once have to take an exam in my pyjamas after leaving the revision a little too late... Leave me to my own devices however and the procrastinator takes over. This may explain why I managed 50,000 words during Nano in Nov but only edited one chapter and wrote a synopsis in December. Yes it was Christmas, but I was off work, yes my other half had a bad case of man-flu leaving me as a single parent for two weeks but I still managed to watch a lot of mediocre TV. I need something definite to work for. Which is where New Years resolutions are so very, very handy. Along with getting fit (!), being more self-confident and cutting down on the wine I have resolved that in 2011 I will edit and submit Write for Love, finish Harland and Loveday and write at least one more book.
Ambitious? a little (especially the getting fit and cutting down on wine)but before being stricken down with man-flu my OH bought the perfect Christmas present for a wannabe romance writer: an 8 week course with bestselling M&B author Jessica Hart starting at the end of the month. Happy 2011!