DIARY POST 11: NOT QUITE THERE

First things first. I didn’t meet my deadline. I take full responsibly, as it is only through my actions or inaction that I am not finished. However, I am glad that I gave myself a deadline. I would not have gotten this far, in this time period. This is my eleventh week of writing the Diary of a Writing Woman posts. Baring when I wrote the first draft (it took me about four months) I have never done more consistent work.

The last three chapters are outstanding. In total they are 35 pages, double spaced. I will continue editing tonight. I should cut that down significantly, before I retire. I have decided to give myself an extension (not like I have a choice) to finish by next Friday.

I didn’t realize how much I had edited out. The third draft was almost 58,000 words. As of now the fourth is about 52,000. It seems like an excessive amount has been deleted, but as I mentioned I had a lot of exaggerated descriptions.

As far as I know, the recommended length of a young adult novel is 55, 000 to 70, 000 words. I think I should take the time to increase my word count. So far, I am satisfied with how it reads, and I love my storyline. I don’t expect to find much of a reason to expand the closing scenes. Not 3000 words worth. I will only do so if it makes sense, or I’ll have to fit in another scene somewhere.

I’m going to utilize my weekend to write. Saturday for sure. In the week, I am tired when I get home from work. I just want to go to bed.

GOOD NEWS. I’ve sent in the first four chapters to be edited by Writers Digest, and I’ve been assigned an editor. She said it should take about two weeks. As soon as that process is completed, I will write a post on it.

Thanks for the support. I am sorry that I fell short, but I am not wasting time staying down.