Is it drafty in here, or is it just me?

Looks a little drafty.

Happy Miscreant Monday, everyone! 

Well, my goddamn deadline is all but upon me and I'm happy to say that this time, I freakin' nailed it! I finished running through the last chapter yesterday (three whole days early)!

But...

(I hate that I have but face after something as great as that...but I do.)

It's drafty in here. Perhaps not this drafty----------------------->
But drafty enough.

There's a few spots that are plaguing my brain and I can't seem to let them rest. Particularly, Chapter 2 and one of the final scenes. Overall, it's nothing terrible. Yet... they plague me-- following me around like a massive hangover. I gotta make them right. They have to be as cool on paper as I see in my head.

I know I can make them better.

I realize this is the first draft, so it's supposed to be drafty, but I fancy myself Wonder Woman, alright?
(Where's my damn golden lasso and invisible plane when I want them?)

While I could say that I have 3 more goddamn days to make it perfect, I'm gonna call it. The first draft is done and I'm entering phase 2-----> über editing (otherwise known to me as perfecting).

Maybe now I can regain a semblance of my previous [in]sanity and allow myself to chill a bit. Who knows? Maybe something wicked will plop into my brain and make it even awesomer yet! (yes, that's a word!)


Thanks for all of your support, everyone! You guys simply rock! 

For those of you interested, my plan right now is to be querying by September or October at the latest. The inception for this book came to me on October 10 last year, so that's the ultimate deadline, if all else fails!

Wish me luck on this new phase... it's a little daunting! ;)

Never thought I'd say it.

But I'm terrified.

100%, heart-pumping, turn-and-run-the-other-way... terrified.

I'm finishing up the last scene I have to write from scratch and technically, I'm only about 2,000 words away from completion. I have a few smoothing over things to do with the chapters that follow, but I've been working on them, too.

2,000 words. 

That's all that stands between me and my first draft.

I've had the scene in my head for months, but I've avoided it like the plague. I'd like to say it was all for the sake of keeping my alpha and betas in the dark. But really, I think I've been scared all along. Scared to finish that last little bit.

Am I the only bizarre one who feels this way?

It's like knowing you're coming up on your due date and at a certain point, that kid inside you will be coming out. There's not a damn thing you can do to stop that process. It's gonna happen.

Impending DOOM!

The good news is, now that I know, I can embrace the fear. Use it to my advantage in this final scene and sprint to the finish line.

Like my hero Jillian Michaels always says:
"You don't get to the finish line and quit. That's when you finish strong."

So that's exactly what I intend on doing. Swallowing down this fear, finishing up the 1st draft and meeting that goddamn deadline.

See you on the other side. ;)

Readers... Alpha, Beta: What's the difference and where do I find them?

So I've been thinking a lot about readers lately. I'm still finishing up the first draft of my novel and getting to the point where I'm really considering taking on new readers. I've had a total of 5 readers so far; 4 Alphas and then my cheerleader, Alpha/Beta Extraordinaire, Sherry.

Each of these tremendous folks have agreed to read the story again from start to finish. It's possible when all is said and done that I may even tweak a couple Betas outta my Alphas. (Get your head out of the gutter!) HA!

Oh, wait, that was me. My bad.

Anyway... What's the difference?

Well, from what I gather (and feel free to correct me if I'm mistaken) Alpha's are straight up readers. They're the people who cheer you on when you could be bombing horribly because they like you too much to hurt your feelings. (see also: your significant other and your Mom)

Beta's on the other hand are the brutally honest critique people. They're essential to making sure your ducks are in a row and not swimming up shit creek without a paddle. Or something like that. Depending on the Beta, they question your motives, your characters, your plot lines, your word structures... they question it all.

Here are my questions to you fine folks...

Did you use Beta Readers? If so, where did you find them? Were they the people lurking in the dark spaces behind your staircase or did you seek them by more scholarly means? Is there a website that is reputable for such a thing? (I haven't yet gone googling, but I will resort to it, if necessary... I just trust you guys more than the monolith of search engines.)

Another concern - albeit conceited and somewhat paranoid - Did you ever worry about sending your work out into the ether? The internet is big, wide space and what happens if your masterpiece gets into the wrong hands? (Think Sauron!) What if it gets stolen/copied before you have a chance to birth it yourself?

I can lock the PDF file until dooms day, but it's a pain in the ass for the Beta who has to retype all of the corrections because they can't copy and paste.

Am I the only crazy one with these thoughts?

At any rate, I'd love your feedback, thoughts and experience yet again. Your wealth of knowledge makes my day. Truly. 

I work best under stress...

Okay, I've decided.

No more slow meandering through this rewrite and smoothing process. I've made it to the final stretch and I need to give myself a deadline. I work best under stress anyway. Just ask my husband during NaNoWriMo! HA!

My goal/deadline is actually twofold. Personally, I think I could quite possibly be done with this novel sometime mid-month (especially if I really apply myself) but I do also have a number of distractions - birthday parties to plan, for example. So, just in case... I'm going to have a default.

So, here and now, I proclaim that I will officially have the first draft written by May 1st, 2011 and ready to be sent for editing.

If, by the graces of the universe, I'm able to finish it sooner, I'd like to have my queries ready to send out to possible agents by May 1st.

Either way you look at it, May 1st is a big day in my world. Both literally and figuratively.

Wish me luck.

Better yet, skip over to my facebook fan page and press LIKE. :)