Chapter 1

So I've just finished my 3rd draft of chapter 1. I've spent a fair amount of time on it and I know it'll need some more, but I think I ready to have some one else read it and give me some feedback.
I've decided I will give myself a week for each chapter, at 27 chapters that's 27 weeks, well 26 now, half a year! But with so many commitments in my life it's hard to do it faster. Maybe I'll surprise myself.

At the moment I'm reading Burned by P.C and Kristin Cast. I buy most of my books online and I like having them in paper and one of the websites I used had this book for 3.99 including postage on a daily special, so I bought it. It's interesting, very simply written, but a very complex story. It's part of a series book 7, so I've come in at that end. Not sure if I'll read any others in the series yet, but I will finish this one.
Cheers.

Draft number 3!

So now I have to do it all over again. I dread revising, I feel like it's easier to spill it all out then refine it, but I realize that it is an important part to writing. So I'm trying to think about the process differently, it's a matter of refining whats already there, which is, if you think about it, easier. This time I've decided to print each chapter and work on it as a hard copy. When I say 3'rd draft each chapter will be reviewed multiple times. For chapter 1 I did 2 revisions on the computer and then one on the hard copy I printed out. It's going to be another long process.
Better get to it.

I'm excited!

I did it, finished my second draft. Just like that, it's done. I don't know how long I've worked on it, but it's been a long time. My first draft I finished in three months, full of spelling mistakes and random bit and an awful ending that I didn't like to read—it seemed boring—so this time I rewrote the whole thing, changing the novel totally from the middle. I can't believe how long it has taken me though. I started on the redraft in  2009 and now were in January 2012. I hope that I do the next draft quicker.

I also wanted to talk about some books that I've just finished. First, Daughter of Smoke and bone by Laini Taylor http://www.lainitaylor.com/ Wow! I really enjoyed this book, even though it is a Young Adult novel. It is packed with magic, adventure, loss and love. I can't wait for the next one to come out.
Second was my book club book The making of us by Lisa Jewell. About the children of a sperm dona who find each other and themselves. It was something I wouldn't pick up on my own, but I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the relationships that the characters developed and the ending. There were some very sad sections and I did cry, but that's good, sometimes.

I saw the new Girl with a dragon tattoo film and although I haven't seen the original I thought this one was really well done. I did try reading the first novel and found it a bit hard going, it may have also been the large pile of other books sitting on my bedside table that were more enticing. Anyway I decided to try reading the next one.

So far 2012 has been a great year!

Cheers!

I'm almost there!

Yesterday was an exciting day for me, as I sat at my computer I realized I had almost come to the end of my book. I thought maybe tonight I would finish my second draft (which has taken much longer than my first draft did). I haven't finished it, but I am so close. I need some fresh eyes so will look at it again tomorrow, and hopefully I'll be writing again tomorrow to say it's done!
It is such a long process no wonder so many people who start to write a book never finish. It's just hours at the computer and music for me.
Well I may just go and read before going to sleep. I love a night without TV, don't you?

Spiders!

I'm not sure what your thoughts are on spiders, mine—I just don't like them. We have lots of spiders in Melbourne at the moment, due to wetter then normal weather conditions. All sorts of spiders. I don't mind the orb spiders, or the little jumping spiders, even dirty long legs. I can deal with a huntsman from a distance. I hate all the others, especially the big black fat ones that are hiding in my fence next to my washing line. In fact I think they have invaded my garden and as I sit here writing this I can feel imaginary spiders crawling all over me. That may have something to do with the fact that I was just outside watering my garden in the dark, I felt something on my legs and kept moving them, thinking the mozzies were getting me, but then I looked down. Two big black hairy things one on each leg. I let our a well stoppered shriek and squirted my legs with the hose. My heart hammering in my chest I looked down at the ground and it seemed that there were spiders everywhere. I tried to water the garden form the front door step instead. Then I came inside and told my hubby, he grabbed a torch and searched the garden and found nothing, not one! I swear there were two on me. God I hate spiders.

Christmas and New Years

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!

This is my new car. BMW X3. Nice ha. Here's the funny story:

Several weeks before Christmas I received an e-mail asking me to ring a number in regards to a prize. I thought about it, showed it to my hubby, then did nothing. My hubby said it would be worth giving then a call. A week later I received another e-mail, this time I picked up my phone straight away and made the call. The lady on the other end said I've been waiting for this call, you've won a BMW! I didn't really believe it, but then the results were published in the paper, then we went to the dealership I drove away with a brand new car!

It is a beautiful car but I think we'll sell. Just thought I'd share the story, sometimes people really do win things.

What are you all reading at the moment?

Get Blogging

So a rejection e-mail made its way into my inbox the other day. But it was the most positive rejection e-mail I've received. Encouraging me to submit my story with other journals or magazines. I have a list of journals and magazines that I want to submit to, so when through my list, found someone who is accepting submissions at the moment and sent it off, the same day. It feels much better then sticking the story into a drawer and walking away.

Anyway to other things. I'm reading the Game of Thrones novels still, they are very dense, but I am really enjoying them. I'm hoping to finish soon so I can read Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. I've had the book for months now, but have been reading other books and been busy. Today I read on Laini's Blog click here that Universal Pictures have optioned the book! I'm excited about that too. And I loved her quote today in regards to her daughter who is a little sick: "To the world you may be just one person, but to one person you may be the world." Probably because I have a little daughter, I call her my baby and she says "no mummy I'm a big girl".

I recently went and saw the new Twilight movie, and absolutely loved it. It may be because I loved the books so much.

And I have been very slack on the writing front. I reached 60 000 words on my second draft which was exciting, but that was a week ago. So I'm trying to give give myself a kick up the butt, but can't quite reach.