Update on my revisions and more...

Ok, so I've recovered (mostly) from yesterday's rant. Have to admit, it was a close thing. More stupid comments appeared on that list and I had a hard time keeping my cool. Fortunately a friend is also on it and we ranted to each other privately to work off the rest of our steam.

I spent several hours yesterday working through the first three chapters of my ms. The first 29 pages are going off to a contest next week - the first I've entered since the 2004 GH. Am really looking forward to the feedback (bad or good) as my story is set during one of the less popular time periods. Am curious about the reactions I'll get.

Once that's off, I have to send off a partial to an agent, then get on with the rest of the ms. And the synopsis . I HATE synopses, despite having learned a lot about the process from Deborah Hale. In Packing Your Synopsis Suitcase, she teaches you how to write a really short synopsis. Requires a lot of hard work and focussing on the key elements of your story.

But I have to remember not to get too caught up in the synopsis right now, or I'll lose momentum on the revisions themselves. At least I figured out a particularly thorny plot issue while lying awake early Sunday morning. It was one that had needled at me from time to time while I was writing, but somehow I never quite found a way to resolve it. Then, suddenly, in those wee hours of the morning, the solution popped into my head! Talk about a relief. Now I just have to remember to work it into the main part of the story. It's something a lot of readers might not even think of, but important enough to be noticed by those who have a really good knowledge of history.

Emma Gads brought up the topic of Facts in Fiction on her blog the other day, about how even the smallest mistakes can jerk her right out of the story. Which is why I try so hard to be so careful about getting the details correct. Even if it means hours of research. Some might consider this a waste of time, but for me it's an essential part of creating my story world.

I'm pretty certain I'm not alone in this. Anyone out there want to chime in?

Teresa