Excerpts and Editing

Part of the process of writing involves sharing your work with others and requesting critiques. I've occasionally been given to put excerpts of my work in here for you to read. I'm my own worst critic (aren't we all?) and I often convince myself no one wants to read that drek until it's at least polished drek that shines in the sun. With less than three months until the CreateSpace deadline, I have a lot of work to do on my manuscript, The Rise of Umbra. That manuscript has been lying, mostly ignored, on my bedroom floor for the last month or so. Not a dignified position for a novel manuscript. Not the most respectful way to treat such a thing, either.

Yesterday's post never quite made it live, but in what I managed to write I mentioned that things have been a bit stressful for me lately, and I think I managed to soldier on these last few weeks only to be faced with cashing that stress check this week. That's one of several excuses I could give for my shameful treatment of my work. Poor manuscript, gathering dust on the floor, spiders walking across it, and it just lying there, its metallic binder clips winking in the sun as I pull the shades open. Yes, manuscript, I'll get to you. But only after the eighty-seven thousand kajillion other things that are more important.

And they honestly are important things I've placed ahead of my editing. In part I'm dragging my feet, because facing that editing and revision task is not something I'm looking forward to. It's like anything else, in writing or elsewhere: it seems scariest before I start it. I have gotten into it before and it has been scary, but also refreshing. Cutting most of an entire chapter out terrified me, but, as I mentioned when I did it, it was for the good of the book, and I think it was necessary. Drawing big 'X's across my pages with a highlighter was freeing in a way. But now that I've made the mess, I've got to go clean it up.

So, right, excerpts. I might be posting some of those in here. Some more. Aside from the couple I've posted previously. Yesterday I couldn't get going on my blog post, today I can't shut up. So look for those, or look away, perhaps, when they hit the screen. And I'll leave it at that.