The situation with Strawberry Moon is as follows: I have printed it out and am making notes, edits, and revisions on the hardcopy. I've done 80 of 133 pages, which seems more impressive than it is because the pages are double-spaced (to allow room for notes--there are a lot of notes). The good news is that I have a much better grasp of characterizations and that I have identified three peaks in the conflict. The bad news is that it most definitely will not be done by the end of the month.
I've learned quite a bit about the story over the last few days. I have discovered that this story isn't for my fourteen-year-old self, it's for my sixteen-year-old self, and because of that, I have given myself permission to be slightly darker and more mature than it originally was going to be. It's still a young adult novel; the worst of the vampire's behavior will be off-screen, so to speak. I've learned that Jessica is in denial and Victoria and Amy are a lot alike. I've learned what drives Victoria and more about what drives Vincent. I did this by writing meta until I understood.
Meta: useful.
This morning, I read Chuck Wendig's blog post "25 Things You Should Know About Writing a Novel" and it eased my fears and insecurities about Strawberry Moon. Well, sort of. I'm still a bundle of raw nerves when it comes to the story, but I'm a lot less stressed about it. I swear that makes sense. The post also helped me realize that it's okay to see other stories--which is great, because I have a fantastic idea for stories featuring a demon-hunting ex-priest, a series of shorts featuring the smutty escapades of an Ohio native on Route 66, and a handful of others. It also helped me to accept that I won't make my self-imposed deadline, but that doesn't matter, because I will finish the novel, I will get it out there, and it will probably be read by people who are not my family and friends. Even though I'm stressed, anxious, and driven to drink over this novel, none of it matters, because in the end, I will be win. I've never not succeeded when it comes to story-writing. Why would I start now?
In other news, I started reading Michelle Muto's The Book of Lost Souls, and I am hooked. I love everyone so far, even Ivy's mom, and even though I'm not very far into it (the kids have just brought the books back from the graveyard), I am already dying to know what's going to happen next. I wish I had discovered it when my kiddo slept more; I would have finished it by now!
The other night, I bought and read Delilah Devlin's short "Handy Men". I have to say, if you're looking for really good smut, she is second to none. I first read her short story collection Texas Men a couple of years ago, and since then, have gone back to her writing every time I wanted something hot and well-written.
I am addicted to downloading free books for my Kindle, and I recently downloaded The Bad Widow from Barbara Elsborg. The story didn't do much for me; it wasn't terrible, it just wasn't my style. (I did find the witch aspect of it interesting, though.) The best part, for me, was her author bio at the end. You can read it at her site, here. I laughed so hard.
And last but not least for today: I'm on goodreads. You should be my friend. I'm still working on listing all the books I've read, but I'll get there.
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