Sticking my head out of the sand
What I've been thinking about lately:
1) Work. Putting the finishing touches on my manuscript. It's currently with a lawyer friend getting the once over to be sure I didn't commit any major offenses against legal procedure in the story. When she returns it, if I haven't failed too miserably, I really and truly will be querying agents. (Yeah, I said that a few times already, but I forgot to account for this step in the process. Silly me.) Also working on synopses of varying lengths so they're ready to go when the time comes. I had to rename a character today when I realized I had too many similar names. I went through the 900 most popular girls' names in 1992 and finally settled on one I didn't like as much as the original, but it had to be done.
2) My treadmill. Yes, my new treadmill that sits proudly in my family room and will until or unless I stop using it for exercise and start using it as a clothes hanger. Let's hope that doesn't happen any time soon. I've discovered two things. First, I exercise better when distracted. My computer sits nicely on a built-in shelf on the console and I can get about 45 minutes of walking in while I read email and blogs first thing in the morning. (My morning, that is.) I've done this three out of three days so far this week. Whee! Second, I think I'm like a reverse addict when it comes to working out. I know in my heart of hearts and from past experience that if I skip a day, I'm about ten times more likely to quit. So, I get up, and I get on the treadmill. I don't take the first drink. :) I'm not sure how things will work on the days I truly can't do this (i.e., I have to be somewhere early), but I'm not going to think about that yet.
3) Blogging and focus. I read here and there how a blog needs a focus that keeps people coming back. I see the proof of this even in author blogs. Those that are simple journals don't necessarily have high traffic. Those that take a particular focus generally have a high level of traffic and interraction in the comments. It doesn't matter so much at this point in my life, but if I'm eventually published, it will become more important. So I've been thinking about this.
And in the interest of brevity, I'm quitting here for now!
posted by Julie Kibler @ 11:09 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
This is too weird. I JUST commented again on your last post...
Bravo for being so close to submission time! You are a complete role model in your meticulousness!
I've been thinking a lot about my blog and focus too; however, I'm still working out what to do with it. I'm pretty sure my focus is narrowing and that I will probably lose some of the readers who used to stop by all the time when I posted more regularly and about more general topics, but since I'm not about to publish a book any time soon, I think I'm going to do whatever I want :)
Kudos on the brevity...I still need to work on that!
Okay, the suspense is too much for me...who did you rename?
Ha ha, Pamela. :) Tamryn was reborn as Jenna last week. First, the name was one I just randomly made up, so I figured it might be a little tongue tangling anyway in the long run. Second, I realized as I wrote my synopsis that several of my characters had names that ended with an -en sound (Colin, Raven, and maybe one other minor). Tamryn's was the easiest one to pull, though she'll probably always be that in my mind. I didn't realize how many names for this generation end with that sound until I started perusing the lists.
BTW, I also realized I gave one of the bad guys my son's middle name (Scott). He might be on his way to a rebirth, too!
It's hard naming characters--just like naming children--because you almost always know someone with that name you are wanting to use. I had that with the main character of my WIP and still could change it. I think it's harder once you've spent hours with them. For my stories that are completed, I would have a really hard time changing the main characters names--kinda like changing one of my children's names now. That's just who they are.
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