It’s author confessions week here at the PLC, and time again for me to lay it all out there. Despite fitting in a family vacation amid a hectic work schedule this month, I’m happy to report that I’ve made some progress in my writing, specifically in my revision process.

I’ve covered my revision process on my personal blog, so I won’t double up in case you’ve already read it. Basically I’m dissecting the whole project in manageable portions as to avoid overwhelming myself. I’ve already pinpointed the trouble spots and tagged all the places I’ll need to flesh out.

Turns out I’m the type of writer that needs to add more to the original manuscript. That’s not a bad thing. The skeletal structure of the story is solid. It just needs some sinew and muscle to strengthen it up. It’s not as easy as going to the local Health Store and picking up a large bottle of weight gainer. A three thousand calorie shake won’t bulk up my story as an extra eight unearmarked hours in the day, but it could be worse.

Trimming the fat from a piece that has broken the 200,000 word mark would be murder. No, really. To work so hard on the right dialog or the perfect turn of phrase, and then be forced to shorten, bend or cut it would feel like murder.

My sympathies to all who have to go through that.

I would like to set a date to be done with this, but I’m not sure what time frame would be called for. I don’t have as much time as I would like to dedicate to writing alone, but I also don’t want to give myself excuses for dragging this out any longer. Tentatively I’ll say by the end of September. I’ll reevaluate that date by the end of this month and keep you updated.

Even though I’m not writing new projects at the moment, I’m still getting some writing time in. The 500 Club hosted here on Thursdays (but not restricted to only playing on Thursdays) helps remind me why I do this crazy little writing thing. I can throw out a piece for the sheer fun of it. No expectation other than to have fun is pretty fertile ground for creativity.

I’m going to leave you with some homework this week. Other than maybe yourself, do you know anybody that writes? A sister working on her poetry? A husband plotting his novel? That guy with the funny cowlick that sits in the corner of the coffee shop pounding out a screenplay? Go give them an encouraging word. Kind words are another great source of creativity and motivation.