It’s been more than two years since the writing began. It’s been more than four since the research started. A little over a month ago, on Jan. 16, I wrote this in my writing journal: “Reached 87,758 words. First draft completed.” Five days later, I wrote “First reread / editing completed.”
It was there I stopped, almost mentally and emotionally spent. I need to do the second edit, which for me is the most serious one. But I stopped, to catch my breath, reflect and take stock, and consider how the past two years of my life have been devoted to a story that is about 25 percent true and 75 percent fiction. Nd what I thought was mostly true mostly wasn’t.
I’ve published five novels and a non-fiction book. I’ve completed two novel manuscripts that have potential but need considerable reworking. I have at least five different novel ideas, and a dozen short stories, buzzing around my head.
This story I just finished, this manuscript I’ve labored over, isn’t exactly a labor of love. It’s more a labor of sweat, the story I had to get done.
To continue reading, please see me post today at the ACFW Blog.
Top photograph by Rui Silva sj via Unsplash. Used with permission.
Some Wednesday Readings
Religion & Celebrity: The Search for Meaning in the 1920s – Mark Malvasi at The Imaginative Conservative.
Thunder in the Harbor by Richard W. Hatcher III – Civil War Books and Authors.
Archaeologist searches to unravel a Civil War mystery in Southgate – Michael Coker at WCPO.
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