Good morning! Well, afternoon here, but it feels like morning. I’ve got my giant cup of coffee- the mug really is awesome. It’s something my hubby brought home from work. The handle is a hammer.

So about this plan. Recently I’ve found myself sliding back into old habits. I know my good friend RLL is going to cringe when he reads this. I apologize in advance, and by the end of this post, you should realize that I have quashed bad habits! No lectures necessary, I assure you.

Bad habits.

Yes, I have those. They tend to lean towards me not believing anything I write is good enough. So I’ll finish a manuscript and it’ll hang out on my hard drive forever, and I won’t even look at it. Case in point: Through the Reflection Pond. I printed out a hard copy a while back because I like to edit with a red pen. I was excited, so the first chapter went pretty quickly. Then it just sort of sat there. I didn’t want to look at it for fear that it would be as horrible as I expected. Oh! The horror of editing! A couple of weeks ago I was at a friend’s house, and she suggested I use sticky notes to point out things bigger than grammar and usage issues that I would like to change. Then, when I go back to input my changes, I’ll know what things I really need to work on. Oh my god! You’d think she’d presented me with the holy grail. I’m nearly halfway through the manuscript now and there are sticky notes hanging off everywhere. And I’m going to let you in on a little secret, it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. Things that felt like ginormous plot holes are actually easily fixed. I’m noting places where I can add needed extra scenes, I’m cutting out big sections of unnecessary junk.

I HAVE COME SO FAR!

I have to admit, seeing my manuscript all written up and sticky noted, I feel like a REAL author. I know, I know, I am…no lectures.

There is a timeline associated with this process. I would like to finish the edits and rewrites by the end of this month/early next month. Then I’ll send the manuscript out to beta readers (anyone want to volunteer for this job?) and cross my fingers. After the beta reads, they’ll be another round of changes. Hopefully this will take me to somewhere around the end of November. I want to start querying by January. Is it doable? I hope so. The real challenge will be writing a successful query letter. I think I hate those more than the editing!

In other news, it’s almost winterguard season. I’ve spent the morning trying to decode the process of converting Roxio videos to a supported file to upload to YouTube. Since I’m pretty much technology illiterate, it’s been quite a process. I’ve successfully managed two videos, but I’m not entirely sure HOW I converted them. So, it’s trial and error to see if I can replicate the process. So far, the answer is no. I think they key is patience. I have a bad habit of losing keys.

But due to my success, I can share videos from last season of my winterguard kids.

Ah well, if I do  nothing else, at least I already feel accomplished!

All the best,

Kacey

Oh! And watch for some tidbits of fiction coming up. I’m kind of taking a short story class and you know how I love to share.