The Ending

Does anyone else suffer insecurity about the ending of their novels? I don't seem to be able to come to terms with mine. I'm not sure it's believable. I'm at an impasse, but determined to push forward.

The end of my book takes place on a yacht. I'm relieved of doing much research on yachting facts because my character doesn't have nautical aspirations. He impulsively jumped aboard to save his young charge. Right now I have him dangling from the railing as the yacht pulls away from the pier. Poor guy only has one good arm, but he's tough and determined.

But it seems kind of an elaborate scheme. I'm going to go with it, but in the process I may come up with a different ending. Talking about it just made it better. It does sound kind of fun and dangerous. My character doesn't think much of it at this point, though. I need to get him off the fence.

One Sentence at a Time

I'm back to eighty-thousand words, down from eighty-two. For those of you who are anxiously waiting for another update.

Something was bothering me. One little detail I couldn't reconcile. There was just too much coincidence in my story. Everything connected with everything else and it didn't seem right somehow. You know when something under the surface bothers you but you can't quite figure it out?

It came to me, of course, out of the blue and it was a relatively easy fix, just one little adjustment that affects nearly every chapter in a little way. I changed the relationship of one character. Instead of having him as a relative to the victim and the villain, I demoted him to an outsider. That little adjustment disconnected the circle and took that nagging feeling away. It also took out a couple thousand words.

Instead of trying to fix it in one sit down, I decided to go forward with the fix to the end, then adjust the rest of the story the next time around. This way, I have an ending that makes sense and something to shoot for.

Thanks for listening. But you wanted to know, didn't you?

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Self-published novels eligible for submission

I received an email that Amazon.com and Penguin Group USA announced the 3rd annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.CreatSpace will host the submission platform.

So what am I doing? Procrastinating. The submissions start January 25th to February 2/7 or when the first 5,000 entries have been received.

The prize is from Penguin, $15,000 advance and a full publishing contract with them. The categories are general fiction and young adult fiction, unpublished and self-published novels accepted.

I don't think I can finish my novel, run through it one last time and get it proofed before that. I don't even know if I want to try. I was acquainted, through a critique group I was in briefly last year, with the winner of last years contest.

I thought I'd just share that with anyone else who might be interested. Here's the website to get started. click here

Good luck

Work in Progress

Hi everyone,

In case you've noticed, I have been making frequent changes to my background, so please don't get confused. I'll get it right someday.

Reached

I've reached my goal of 80,000 words. I figure I have another 10,000. I hope not. I'm into virgin territory now. Most of what has to be written hasn't been. I never finished the story before I started the second draft. I have a much clearer view of how the end now than I did then. I really don't want to go over 90,000 words, but if it means making a better novel, then so be it.

I'm cooking my first turkey of the year. It smells so good.For Thanksgiving, we went to my son's house. We were snowed in for Christmas, so we felt deprived. My stomach is awake and biting. Turkey sandwich, here I come. Yum.

Today is the last of the holidays till spring break. Boo hoo. Tomorrow is just another work day. Early to bed, early to rise. I hope you all transition back to the norm in a seamless fashion.

New Years Revolutions

If I spelled resolution wrong in the title, it's not because I'm a bad speller, which I am. Thank God for spell-check. This year will be a year of revolutions, but lets not lose sight of what this blog is about. I declare a revolution against excess fat, laziness, grouchiness, and broken resolutions. How's that for a play on words?

Ugh, I'm about fifteen pounds overweight. I'm going to be happy with losing ten. Five will be a major milestone, but ten will make me happy, happy. I don't necessarily think I'm fat, but dangit my clothes aren't fitting right and I don't want to buy bigger ones. I would also look better with less weight and feel better.

Laziness: Well, I am lazy. I've been procrastinating about finishing this book for a year. Granted I had a bad case of writers block, or cramps as I like to say. But by gum and April, I hope to have a completed manuscript.

Grouchiness? Yes and there are lots of reasons for that. The two aforementioned above are two reasons. The government is another, and my job, which is a blessing, is another. I don't want to work anymore. I'd like to retire and just write. But I lack discipline, which also makes me lazy, which makes me grouchy. So, you see, I've got a revolution to win this year.

How about you? Are there revolutions you must conquer this year? If so, I pray blessings for you all.