We’ve had a mild autumn here in Pennsylvania, with t-shirt and sandals weather continuing all the way through October and into November. There have been cold and rainy days here and there, but even my summer annuals are still blooming.
My daughter wants to remind us all, though:
Yes, she’s a GOT fan.
I finally finished the first draft of BRANEWORLD during that week when I had all those book events and 600 miles of driving to do. Finished it up in a hotel room, in fact. For some reason, the busier I am, the more enthusiastic my Muse is! I spent about a week planning out revisions, and I’m now a third of the way through Draft 2.
Ah, revisions! SO MUCH BETTER than first drafts.
I also start teaching my adult course, Writing for the Children’s Market, at Delaware County Community College on Thursday. I’m not looking forward to the commute during the height of rush hour traffic (says the woman whose former job was 2 miles from home), but I am looking forward to teaching the class!
I’ll try to keep up with the blog this month, posting on my usual Mondays and Wednesdays and visiting while I can, but I’m WAY more enthusiastic about the second draft of my WIP than I was about the first, so if I seem to be scarce, that’s probably why. I might not be NaNo-ing, but I bet I can get this second draft done before the end of the month. BRANEWORLD is a MG science fiction adventure through multiple-dimensions — The Adjustment Bureau meets The Boy Who Reversed Himself, with a little string theory for kids thrown in.
Today, I’ll finish up this post with a shout-out to Sharon K. Mayhew – a blogger many of you might know – who is starting her own freelance editing service. You can check out her website here: The Manuscript Maven. In honor of her launch, Sharon has generously offered free critiques to one winner on each blog announcing her new business. Each winner will have the choice of the first 250 words of a picture book critique/line edits, the first seven pages of a novel critique/line edits or a query critique/line edits.
To enter, simply mention in your comment that you’d like to win a free critique from Sharon. I will randomly choose a winner next Monday, November 17.
Cool that you finished the first draft! If you’re excited, focus on it. We’ll understand.
Enjoy teaching that class.
Great pumpkin. Congrats on the finishing up. I’ll put my bid for a critique.
Congrats, Sharon, to your new endeavor!
The warm weather sounds lovely, but I’m with your daughter on winter. They say stress makes us write faster – guess it’s true. And go get those edits!
So excited for Sharon. And awesome how you’re progressing with your manuscript, Dianne.
Yay for second drafts! I’m excited for you 🙂 And yes, put my name in for a critique – I’m always looking for ways to tighten my writing.
Congrats on revisions! It’s my favorite part. I’m plowing through a horrendous first draft and I can’t wait to revise it. So much more comes to light when I write terribly and I get invigorated thinking about how I’ll fix it all.
I’m so excited about your new WIP, BRANEWORLD! It sounds great, and it’s wonderful that you managed it while you had so many other things going on. It must be very clear in your mind, which is always a good sign. I hope your Pennsylvania mild fall continues and that you survive your looooong commute to the new teaching job. 🙂
Being enthused about writing is a good reason not to blog! It’s also so cool that you’re teaching a class on writing. Those are lucky students, hearing from someone who knows what she’s talking about 🙂
Congratulations on getting through that first draft! You must really thrive on being busy. Gets your juices flowing, I guess.
Our weather has been strange, too. Our azaleas are blooming! (And not just the “encore” ones.) Yet, in the very early morning of November 1, we had some snow flurries. Currently, it’s in the 70s, and is supposed to be even warmer the next couple days… and then COLD by the end of the week. Like around freezing kinda cold. Dang. (This is supposed to be HOT-lanta!)
Woo-hoo, you did it!! Knew you could! Have fun w/the courses, I bet your teacher’s side is all fired up. I, for one, would love to attend a class where you were the teacher!
I’m so jealous of your nice weather. Glad you’re looking forward to your class and of course I’d love to win a critique!
Hi Diane .. that’s great to get the shout-out for Sharon and her new project: The Manuscript Mavens …
However congratulations on all you’re achieving – this sounds like so much fun in between the hard work … enjoy that class … and pumpkin boot reminders re the weather – it’s closing in … cheers Hilary
Congratulations on finishing your first draft of Braneworld!
Winter arrived here last night. It was twenty-four degrees when I woke up and we had a dusting of snow. BRRRR
Thank you for sharing my news. I’m so excited about working with and helping authors develop their manuscripts. I look forward to seeing who your winner is next week. Your readers can pop over to my blog for more opportunities to win my services.
I would love a free critique! Thanks for sharing!
A good review from Kirkus is huge. Congrats, Dianne! 🙂