The Trendsetter

So, where am I?

Can’t you tell? I haven’t updated my blog since last month. This stage, where I’m now, hasn’t left me with much time for my blogging. But hey, I sneak in here to write for this month’s entry.

But, I mean, yeah, I’m still stuck in the revising stage of my manuscript. This is my, oh…third revision so far. I hope this will be the last one before I move on to the next stage.

I hope…

So why does revising take so long? Well, each writer has their own style and preferences. Some writers, who upon completing their first draft revise it once and then boom, it’s done and ready for the publisher. Some writers take time—say five months, a year or even two years to get their manuscript ready. Me? I want my manuscript to be revised once and then that’s it. I’m ready to pounce on agents!
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The novel has been written.

Now it’s time to put it aside for a week and do something you enjoy the most—read your favorite novel, magazines or just get together with friends for a good time. You need to rest as much as possible so when you return to your manuscript, you’ll approach it with a fresh mind. Are you ready?

Go!

“But I’m not ready yet,” you say.
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While sitting here editing my manuscript in excruciating pain and misery, I wondered why I wrote this piece of fiction in the first place. And if you’re asking the same question like me, then you’re not alone. Rewriting, editing or whatever you name your revision process for your draft brings out all sort of emotional angst—now that you’re forced to look at your manuscript through a cold eye.

The fun of writing just ended. Now the real task begins.
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So, it has been almost two months since I completed my short story and I’m still working on improving it so it looks like it was written by someone who knows how to write fiction. Well, it’s almost there and I’m still trying to find a way to improve the story’s depth. So far, I’ve polished the characters and each has a life. As far as the theme is concerned, I figured it’s really tied to the characters or plot. So, I also summarized the theme for my own reference. I also improved the dialogues so it has more slants and not bores the reader.

I am not sure if I found my own voice yet.
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So I completed my short story and had fermented it for a while and am now editing it to death! However, in these past few weeks, I’ve found myself also writing the sequel to the story. The MMC and FMC (Male Main Character and Female Main Character) bugged me to write more about them. Hmmm…maybe this was crazy, but if you were the author, you’d know what I mean. Writers are like that. They dwell on their writing for a long time and hope something would come up making it even better than their previous writing.
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