Fall-ing in Love

There's something about this time of year that puts a spring in my step, a twinkle in my eye, and a tingle in my heart. Some people might equate the sensations I get with falling in love. In a sense, it is a love affair I have every October-I go head over heels in love with Fall. And just like real love, it celebrates the good things, while not glossing over the irritating habits your partner may have. Fall's annoying habit of getting really warm and bringing out the yellow jackets and post-summer sweat is forgivable, as long as I get the crystalline days that bring chilled cheeks and the breath of fallen leaves. Coffee tastes so much better on days like that, and has me in the kitchen (not like I'm in there every day anyway ;-} ) baking and stewing like I'm preparing a feast for an arriving prince. Then come the grey rainy days where I feel almost like it is a requirement to spend the day in it's entirety inside, either under a blanket or madly typing plotline, oblivious to the world around me. I'm cosseted in the thick woolen blanket of greyness, and the sharp edges of the outside world are muted and distant, unable to poke me in the eye for the day. Today was a day like that, excepting the sick, home from school son. He's a trooper though, watching movies, eating ice cream, and playing Xbox. At 15, he's pretty well able to take care of himself, but I follow him around when he gets up, snatching things out of reach and telling him to "stop touching things!" Despite patrolling the house, I got the rewrites done on the first two chapters this morning. I am good, really good with the progress so far, and now comes what I think is the easier rewrites, the main body of the book. The first two chapters are the set up for the rest of the book, introducing my main character, and it's set in a different place entirely than where the rest of the book takes place. It's somewhat bifurcated from the rest of the story, so it had a short, fast groove that I had problems getting into. Groove was gotten, changes were made, all is good in the drizzly grey Virginia countryside.

Deux and Redo

Whoof. I think that's the sound I'm looking for. Taking the sage advice of seasoned writers, I dismantled my first chapter and rewrote it. I ended up with something so amazing, so different from the stilted construction that comprised my first attempt at a chapter, that it was unrecognizable. I was even asked if it was the same book. Unfortunately, I'm finding that I absolutely hate doing rewrites. Passionately. I'm ok once I get rolling, but facing that blinking cursor on a new document is harder than I had anticipated. It's not that I hesitate to rip the already written chapter apart, it's more of a "aw man, haven't we already done this???" discouragement. The results are worth it, though. I'm impressed, my proof reader is impressed, so I soldier on. Already working on chapter two, fixing problems with plot flow I created with the editing of the first chapter. Every day, into the trenches boys!
Next step is to submit the new material, and hope that an agent is impressed.....More on the various turns life has taken in the past month later, now I have to turn over the internet for the sake of the children. Homework. Glad I assign my own nowadays!