Christmas!!! (and an update on my rewrite)

My husband and I put up the Christmas tree on the weekend and it's safe to say it's the smallest tree I've ever had. 

Just to give you an idea of the true scale of the thing…

Other than that, the novel rewrite I started back in April is nearing completion. I've got one more chapter left to read through tonight and then it's off to my agent. I like the book quite a bit now, although I did find myself nodding off in a few chapters that didn't need much revising from the original. Here is the text message exchange between myself and my fabulous writer friend when I was editing those chapters:

How exciting can words be when you've read them 25 times, though, right? You could be writing about exploding dragons in space and you'd still be like "Ugh. Enough with the exploding space dragons already!"

Why moms are awesome...

... and also a little out of touch with how publishing actually works.

Love you, mom! You'll always be my #1 fan! (And I yours.)

Wisdom from an unpublished novelist

The lesson I learned today while editing my manuscript:
Genius can’t be rushed. Indeed.
But mediocrity really, really CANNOT be rushed. Like, not at all.

Lamp or Japanese Water Ghost?

I attended a fascinating talk at the International Festival of Authors on the weekend. It featured four young authors, all of whom had written novels about war/conflict. All four had very different points of view and outlooks on writing, and the whole thing was incredibly thought provoking. It also veered into the weird courtesy Shani Boianjiu who preferred to answer her own questions, stroke her long black hair and pretty much disagree with everyone on the panel, I think, just to stir up s#it. Needless to say, Shani made the event feel a little bit more like The Real Housewives of New Jersey than literary roundtable, which, for anyone who knows me knows that I NOW LOVE SHANI BOIANJIU. 

Among the panelists was the author of one of my favorite books of the year: Anthony Marra, writer of A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, which I have drooled about here. Anthony was charming and thoughtful, and provoked a great deal of the debate... whether he wanted to or not. 

He signed books afterwards and I was so nervous when I met him that I rambled about how I bought his book twice: first as an e-book and second as a paperback so I could get his signature. I also rambled something about how "I'm a struggling writer and your book sort of gave me permission to write about war too even though I haven't lived it either blah blah blah." Then Anthony smiled, told me that he's a "struggling writer too," which made me want to hug him and, also, kick him in the shins.

Anyway, because I bought his book twice, Anthony signed it twice. Ha! He also drew a doodle of me on the page (see below), which brings me to the point of this post. 

A friend thinks that the doodle of me looks like a lamp...

... But I think it looks more like a Japanese water ghost.

What say you?

Donuts and dollhouses

I have three days off work coming up at the end of October – three glorious days – and I have big plans for them:

1) Eat a gluten-free, vegan donut from Tori’s Bakeshop
2) Edit manuscript

This edit will be the last before I send it off to my agent, who, God-willing, will actually want to read it again. All the old fears are boiling up, of course – that’s where the donuts come in – but all the old excitement, too. I haven’t read the thing, on purpose, in months and I’m missing it. I’m also terrified that, compared to all the astonishingly good books I’ve read since we parted (Orkney by Amy Sackville among them), my little novel will seem like an unmitigated turd.

To keep my mind off of my manuscript the last little while, I’ve kept myself busy with reading as many quality novels as I could, obsessively checking the Ontario Arts Council “Current List of Grant Recipients” web page, and writing a new piece for the CBC short story contest. The short is pretty good, I think. It was inspired by a hilarious voicemail from my dad and my 25-year-old ransacked dollhouse:

My actual dollhouse as photographed in August of 2013.
Note the dollhouse within the dollhouse. I was a deeply meta child.

So that's all from me. I’ll let you know if I like or dislike my manuscript. I’ll also be sure to post a photo of the donut. 

Hurrah!

I had a major writing breakthrough last night. MAJOR. I am so stoked about it that I want to shout it from the tops of cliffs, preferably while wearing a white shirt that billows in the breeeze. But since cliffs aren't subway accessible where I live and this shirt will definitely make me look fat....

... I'll settle for typing out jubilant whoops

on my blog.

Woo hoo! Yay! Yippee!

I can see the end, people! I'm almost done with my (latest) rewrite of novel #1! Another couple weeks of hard work, followed by a couple months away from my manuscript, then another read/edit with fresh(ish) eyes, a read by my trusted writer friend, more edits and then -- five or so months from now -- I'll send it off to my agent.

I am very excited, I must say. I feel like I spend so much time worrying and thinking and working working working that I don't enjoy the moments when everything comes together and clicks, you know? So today I'm throwing a party in my brain. And you're all invited! Who's bringing the guacamole? 

It's back-to-business time

Writing is hard, but it's extra hard after honeymooning in Italy, not writing a single word for nine days, and flying home to Canada in a full-blown carb coma. (The gluten-free gods have blessed the Amalfi Coast, let me tell you.)

I've been back for a while now and while my pants are still tight, the writing -- finally -- is feeling loose and comfy again. It's also frequent.

This, more or less, is what my schedule has been like. (Not including weekends and Friday nights, which are a bit more -- ahem -- unpredictable.)

6:45 am: Wake up. 

7:45 am: Take subway to work. Edit manuscript on my iPhone on subway. (My best editing discovery ever, btw. A must-try, if you can read small.)

8:30 am - 1:00 pm: Work. I eat my lunch while working. (I'm really into smoked-tofu sandwiches again.)

1 - 1:45 pm: Edit/write in Starbucks on laptop (while drinking that morning's cold coffee).

1:45 - 5 pm: Work.

5:30 - 6:00 pm: Edit manuscript on my iPhone on subway.

6:45 pm - Eat dinner. Catch up with very patient/understanding husband.

7:45 pm: Write new scenes. (No editing of old stuff allowed!)

9:00 pm: Watch Orange is the New Black or Under the Dome. Do back exercises.

10:00 pm: Read. (Currently: The Bell Jar)

11:00 pm: Sleep. 

Repeat.

I know now that I have to write every single day to keep the ideas flowing -- and to stay in touch with my characters. Every writer with a full-time job (or family or both) knows how hard it can be to find balance, but when you love it (even though you also HATE it) it's worth it.