Writing

We went up to Rocky Mountain National Park to see the Aspens changing colors. It is at the very beginning of the change so it was spectacular. We saw hidden lakes and mountain glaciers (snowy ice in crevices of mountains). My son and son-in-law hiked to one glacier and threw snowballs. I watched marvelling at the energy of youth.

  
But back to writing. I should get Chapter Three back later today from my editor. More work, I'm sure. But getting closer every day.  I had a friend read the entire book a couple of weeks ago. She told me she was compelled to stay up later than she wanted to keep reading it.

 Her comments inspired me to really work hard the following week to continue fixing sections to make it the best that it can be. She finished the book and said she enjoyed it. 

But I find it is not enough. It seems I want a continuous flow of people coming into the world my editor and I have created and become enthralled in this world.

I guess it is similar to re-decorating your home. You invite your closest friends and they marvel over it. But when they leave that is it. You need more. So you invite other people over, work friends, neighbors etc. 

All that hard work. But when it is all done, you really need to find that you have enjoyed it. The process and the project and now the knowledge that you actually achieved it.   

Writing process and Colorado camping

We are editing the last two chapters. The ending is tricky because it has to answer all the questions and do so quickly and concisely. It may take a couple weeks to get them right. I could not have made it this far without my sister/editor. She changes the wording to make the scenes clearer and has polished every single section she has touched. I think it is finally coming together. And the amazing part about it is that even if no one else reads it but my family, I still feel that she has made it so much better.

I cannot say that it was fun. It was hard work on top of more hard work. After we finish going over the last two chapters, we will reread the entire book and polish it one more time before sending it to a publisher. That will take a few more months. But my hopes are high. Once it is sent off, then I will start on book two. I wrote this book about five years ago and it is the second in the series. I look forward to seeing how that story will transform in the days and weeks to come.

I'm going camping for now in the beautiful Rocky Mountains.